


Twenty Flavors of AOT

by InkStainedHands1177



Series: Prompts for All Occassions [9]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alive Grisha Yeager, Amnesia, Animal Shifters, Anime Hanji, Dark Eren Yeager, Eren Fritz-Jaeger, Eren Kruger is Done, Female Armin Arlert, Female Eren Yeager, Female Hanji (cause I didn't know until too late), Gamer Eren Jaeger, Gen, Genderbend Characters, Geneticist Grisha Jeager, Genius Grisha Jaeger, Good Parent Grisha Yeager, Grisha Yeager's Bad Parenting, Hanji being Hanji, High School AU, Levi being Levi, Male Mikasa Ackerman, Modern AU, Protective Erwin Smith, Psychopath Eren, So done, Telepath Eren, Thug Levi, Titan Shifters, Warrior Eren, canon AU, mafia, papa erwin, princess eren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28151394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainedHands1177/pseuds/InkStainedHands1177
Summary: Twenty different ways Attack on Titan could have gone besides the one everyone knows and loves.
Series: Prompts for All Occassions [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588924
Comments: 34
Kudos: 95





	1. Catnapping

**Author's Note:**

> I have a slew of stories that I'm never going to publish just because I'm never going to finish them. However, these are the first chapters of a lot of them and sometimes the second chapters too. I hope you enjoy them. For a lot of these stories I have about fifteen to twenty chapters written and then nothing. So if any of you want more, just let me know. : )  
> Hope you all enjoy!  
> Ink...

Levi scrambled away from the broom that the demon lady was swinging. “Get out of my kitchen! OUT! You black devil! You flea-ridden beast! GET OUT!”

Jumping onto the fence, Levi hissed at her and then vanished into the back streets. After walking for a half hour, he finally came upon his little home. A scruffy Golden Retriever and a brightly colored parakeet hurried out to meet him. Levi yowled and then shifted into his lean, nineteen year old, human body as they walked into their home.

He leaned his head back with a sigh. “The maid was there…”

Shifting, Farlan groaned. “Fuck.” He glared at the ground. “My turn?”

“Yeah. Try the Italian place two blocks down.” Levi sighed and shook his head. Isabel flitted onto his knee and then shifted. She cuddled her fifteen year old self close to him. She was cold.

“I wish I was more helpful. No one gives me anything except birdseed.” She huffed. Levi chuckled and rubbed her hair.

“That’s enough to keep you alive, Isa. I’m grateful for it. If anything, you should be proud. You’re able to take care of yourself. Far and I…it’s a little harder for us.” He looked around at their small home. It was a small, basement apartment that was the back to back with the basement of another apartment building. The good thing was that the basement next door was occupied by a furnace and nothing else. There were multiple exits that three animals/children could utilize.

Farlan stretched and then shifted back into his canine form. He gave them both a soft woof before going off to do his ‘lost puppy’ act. His best provider was the Italian restaurant owned by the Springers. They were kind and even tried to give him a collar and a home, but Farlan couldn’t leave his siblings. He had tried to bring Levi and Isabel into the fold, but the Springers were deeply superstitious of black cats. Farlan ran away soon after they sent Levi packing.

Shifting back, Isabel flew up to a nice little cranny in the brick wall. It was on the other side of the next door apartment building’s furnace. She loved it. It was nice and dry, a perfect roost. Smiling up at his sister, Levi was grateful that the majority of the population liked dogs and birds. All Isabel had to do was go to the park on sunny days and hop around on the ground, and people would throw her seeds or bread or crackers. Farlan only needed to cock his head and lift his forepaw and stare at them with those eyes of his, and people would melt and give him bones and leftover meatballs and even some leftover steak! Levi? Levi was a cat. A  _ black _ cat. He mostly got rocks thrown at him.

Moving his body to get comfortable on the couch, Levi glanced at their place. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a small living room that also played both kitchen and dining room. They were only able to afford the rent money because of his other jobs.

He usually got the most income and food via his human form. He had fast reflexes and keen senses. He was an excellent…killer. Yeah, Levi was a thug. In the underbelly of the city, he was a well known cat burglar (oh the irony), and a really talented assassin and bodyguard. His jobs enabled them to buy groceries, which in turn, helped get most of the nutrients they needed to live healthily. His income also helped pay off the corrupt cops to keep the orphanages and other child services from collecting Farlan and Isabel. So, even with the money he was earning, Levi still had to pay for the bills, bribes, groceries, and rent. It didn’t allow much luxury. Pity.

He stood up. Isabel twittered in concern. Levi waved at her. “Just going out. I’m gonna try one more time. If anyone comes in, don’t let them see you.” She tweeted in confirmation. Levi nodded to her and left through the back way. Once in the alley, he glanced around and then shifted once more into a cat. No one knew there were shifters.

Levi didn’t know if his two siblings (not by blood, but that didn’t make a difference to Levi) and he were the only shifters in existence, or if there were others who were just staying in hiding like Farlan, Isabel, and he were. Levi didn’t know. He didn’t really care either.

He only cared about the next meal and the next paycheck.

Looking around warily, Levi crossed the street and started walking down the sidewalk. He stuck to the inner part of the sidewalk. He had been kicked into oncoming traffic by a bunch of brats before. He didn’t relish the thought of it happening again. The world was a sadistic cesspool.

Suddenly, Levi’s world went upside-down. He gave a yowl when his tail was crushed under something. Unsheathing his claws, he didn’t care who or what was on top of him; they would soon be off!

“Ow! Ow!” An adolescent girl scrambled off of the hissing cat. Her green eyes were red and teary. Levi backed away from the girl warily. His throbbing tail poofed, and his back arched. “Sorry…I didn’t see you.” The girl bit her lip and then stared at Levi. “I hope I didn’t hurt you…you okay?” She extended her hand very slowly so Levi could sniff her. Hesitantly, Levi craned his neck, taking a sniff. The brat smelled alright. No drugs, no alcohol, no bad feelings either.

Pulling inwards, Levi stared at her, not moving. The girl huffed out a breath and looked up and down the sparsely populated street. It was a sidewalk at the entrance of one of the deed restricted neighborhoods. Levi liked giving the yap dogs, who were trapped inside their houses, heart attacks. He also didn’t mind knocking over some garbage cans in revenge for certain broom happy bitches.

He was suddenly brought back to the present by the smell of tuna. He perked up. The girl sniffed and gave a weak laugh. “Cats and fish. I’ve never understood the attraction.”

_ Me neither, Brat, but it is what it is. Now, are you going to share or just eat in front of me? _ Levi gave her a calculating look. He wondered if he could snatch the sandwich and run.

Suddenly, the issue was solved for him. The girl grabbed a small handful of tuna from her bursting sandwich and offered it in her hand for the cat.

Levi sniffed her again, checking to see how dirty her hands were and how fresh the fish was. Starving or not, he wasn’t going to risk parasites or poisoning. Deeming it safe, he gobbled it up fast and then started to take a full bath. It was reflex, and when it came to cleanliness Levi wasn’t going to argue.

He looked up when he heard the girl make a weird noise. Levi began to feel alarmed when he realized the kid was crying.  _ Shit. What do I do? Should I do anything? It’s not my problem whatever she’s going through, but…if she doesn’t stop then she might not feed me anymore… _ Levi reached a conclusion. The brat had been nice to him, so he would be nice to the brat.

Padding silently over, Levi rubbed his head against the rough denim of the girl’s jeans. He began to purr. The deep rumbling sound soothed the kid’s tears. She looked up and then quickly pulled Levi into an embrace. At first, Levi tensed, but then he realized that the kid knew what she was doing. She was supporting his hind paws and holding him securely. Levi relaxed ever so slightly and continued purring.

It took a few minutes for the brat to stop crying. “Thank you…here, as thanks.” The girl set the sandwich on the ground and opened it up. “Eat as much as you want. I’m not very hungry.” Levi pounced. He didn’t have to pretend to purr this time.

As he was eating, he listened partly to the brat’s rambling. Something about an overbearing father, an overprotective sister, a dead mother, an estranged and absent brother no one dared to tell her about, only one friend, who was also protective. She had run from her house in a fit of anger when she heard she wasn’t going to go to school any more, but would be tutored at home.

_ Shit, I’ve got a better social life than this kid. That’s just sad. _ Levi licked his paws and mouth and then his whiskers and behind the ears. He was in the middle of cleaning his back when he tensed.

Someone was running towards them. “Miss Erin! Miss Erin! Oh thanks goodness! I’m so very glad you’re safe! Your father is coming home soon. Please, you need to be home before he arrives. He will be in a state if he finds you gone again!”

Erin acted fast. “Fine.” She snatched up Levi and took him with her. Levi was stunned at first and then began to wiggle, but the girl wouldn’t let him go.

_ Shit! _ Levi could only watch as he was taken into a car and driven away.  _ Double shit! I’ve been catnapped! _


	2. Princess of Eldia pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything changes for Grisha because of his son's betrayal, but at least he has his daughter.

Dina Jaeger looked around quickly, double checking that the bundle in her arms was asleep. Breathing out slowly, she hurried across the street. She couldn’t get caught. Not now. Not tonight of all nights. She couldn’t get caught.

“HALT!”

Gasping out, she broke into a run and rushed down an alley that she knew opened into another street that was a red light strip. Rushing into the house of an Eldian woman who was supportive of the Restorationists, Dina fled through the connecting doors between the basements of the rowhouses until she got to the last one in the strip. Slipping out the backway, she ran faster.  _ Why? Why did Zeke turn us over? Why did he inform the police? What did I do wrong when raising him?! Where did Grisha and I go wrong?  _ Grisha. He was ready to meet with her at the docks. Ready to flee with her to Paradise, to locate the Coordinate and take the Power of the Titans from the corrupted line of King Karl. Dina’s own blood came from Karl’s younger brother Richard Fritz. And she couldn’t allow Marley to use her daughter like they had used her son. She wouldn’t let that happen. 

“THERE SHE IS! STOP HER!”

Breathing raggedly, Dina rushed into one of the buildings. A bookstore. Breathing hard, she looked around as she broke into the store, praying there wasn’t a silent alarm going off. Rushing to the back, she turned when she heard the door open. “I seek Eldia’s glory.” This rushed out of her the moment she saw an armband on the man’s sleeve. Apparently, he was just about to get ready for sleep. 

“Who are you?”

Pounding on the door made Dina nearly sob. Getting a hold of herself, she rushed towards him. “They want my daughter. She is the last of the Fritz line. They cannot have her! They cannot have her! Please!” 

“But what am I to do about it? You’ve brought this on me-” 

“I can lead them away. I can hide you from them, but you must keep my daughter away from the soldiers.” Dina’s eyes were filled with tears. “Her father is waiting at the docks, in the pub called the Lion’s Door. Please. You must take her to him before midnight.”

The pounding was increasing, and the soldiers were shouting. 

The man swallowed and then nodded. “So be it. I too seek Eldia’s glory.” Unwrapping her daughter swiftly, Dina gave him a grateful look and then snatched a loaf of bread and wrapped the bread quickly. He grabbed her arm. “But what about you?”

“If I must be damned for my daughter’s future, then I will gladly take that fate.” Dina swallowed and braved a smile at him. “Thank you.” With that, she rushed out the backway and then purposefully knocked over a couple of garbage cans and bolted down the street. The pounding stopped and the soldiers went after her in pursuit. 

The man swallowed and moved closer to his backdoor and listened. The soldiers were shouting. 

“GOT HER!”

“Excellent! Take her to the commander!”

“Sir!”

Sagging against the door, he looked down at the sleeping child. “Your mother is very brave, Dear Heart.” Gathering a cloak around himself and the one year old, he darted a look around and then hurried down the street. The guards and soldiers were all focusing on the women, who was throwing a terrific fit and battle.  _ Keeping all attention on herself. Truly, she is the bravest I’ve met. _ Swallowing, he pushed his own fear aside and made his way swiftly and unhindered towards the docks and to the back entrance of the pub. 

Looking around warily, he knocked on the door. It opened. The keeper frowned at him. “We don’t give to beggars.”

“I’m not. I have a package for one of your patrons.” He was sweating. “A woman gave her to me for safe keeping. I seek Eldia’s glory.”

The pub owner’s face went from suspicious to panicky, and he pulled the shop owner into his kitchen. Jerking around, he hissed at his son, “Get the doctor!”

When ‘the doctor’ came hurrying in, his face went from worried to terrified. “Where’s Dina?” He moved faster towards the man. “Where’s my wife?”

“She- she was being pursued by the soldiers. She broke into my shop and begged me to help her. In order to give me a moment to slip away she…she allowed herself to get caught by them. She gave me her daughter and told me to get to the Lion’s Door before midnight.”

The captain of the ship smuggling the man nudged him. “We have the girl. We need to leave.”

“My wife! I can’t leave my wife!”

“You have to, Man! Get your head straight! The soldiers have her now! You can’t break her out! Once she’s turned into one of them, there’s no going back! She gave herself up for you and the princess. Don’t waste it!”

The shopkeeper swallowed.  _ Princess? _ He was holding the princess of Eldia?!  _ No wonder the soldiers wanted her. _ He handed the sleeping child to the doctor and watched the weeping man get guided away and towards the boats. 

The pub owner exhaled. “Poor man. Lost his wife and son in one night.”

“Son? Did he get caught by the soldiers too?”

“No. He reported on his own parents. Turning them in to the soldiers.” The pub owner spat into the fire angrily. “Wish I could ring the stupid brat’s scrawny neck. He caused fifteen of our best to be caught and turned.” Suddenly, the man turned and looked at him. “You should get back. Nothing should fall back on you, but give yourself an alibi just in case. If nothing comes up in a week, then you’re safe. If you need help, then find your way here.” The man smiled softly. “You did Eldia a huge service tonight.”

“Th-thank you.” With that, the bookshop owner hurried home. Nothing did come up, in one week or two, but he didn’t just go back to his complacent life. He started helping Eldian children relearn their education. Started working with the Restorationists and re-educating the Eldians about what the Paradise Eldians were actually like, what the Marleyans were hiding from them. Through his work over the years, much of the brainwashing of the Eldians was to be undone.

Meanwhile, Grisha Jaeger- for he was the doctor- held his daughter and stared at the huge Titan Wall where prisoners were transformed and thrown off. His wife was up there. Or perhaps she had already been transformed. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was all but dead now. Trapped in a nightmare forever.  _ Unless…unless I can actually get the antiserum to work. Unless I can actually complete my research. _ It was promising. His intelligence and research was what caused him to have to flee Marley in the first place. The government wanted to use him. He knew how to make weapons, chemical weapons, bioweapons. He created something called Mustard Gas because the smell resembled mustard. It was lethal, and after seeing the effects on test animals, he swore never to see it happen to Humans of any race, even Marleyans didn’t deserve that. He had also done research on the different Titan Powers, even finding out how they happened in the first place. Genetic mutations. He had learned how to tailor new mutations, thus creating more Titan Powers. Also, he had figured out a way to counter the Curse of Ymir. If his Immortality Serum was given to a person before they became a Shifter, the person would live to a full lifespan. Given to a person who didn’t become a Shifter, they would essentially live forever. If Grisha’s theories were correct. Which- to be honest- they always were. 

That was why he was wanted alive. Dina had been wanted alive until she had two children. Then her usefulness lessened. When she had a daughter, her usefulness was over. When Grisha fled the government science facility and hid in his family’s old home, his own son had reported on him. Dina smuggled him out of Liberio, but it was no use. When she attempted to join him…the soldiers got her. All because of Zeke. His traitorous and confused son.  _ Why? Why had he done this to us? We were too harsh for him? I have seen children survive far worse. We fed him, clothed him, never beat him, never spoke down to him, never abused him or neg… _ Grisha stared at the blackened sea of the night. “Neglected him…did I do that?” He closed his eyes and groaned.  _ Oh what have I done? For some children, they need less attention and will be better for it. For other children, they need more attention and will be worse off if they do not have it. Was Zeke one of these children? Did he seek out someone else who poisoned him against Eldia simply because that person gave him attention that I failed to give? Could all of this happened differently if Dina and I had simply…given him more attention? _

Grisha didn’t know what to think. He couldn’t undo the past, and he was now reaping the consequences, so he pushed on and focused on keeping the only remaining member of his family alive. Little Erin. She hadn’t done anything to deserve this. He would see her well taken care of. He would give her what he had apparently failed to give Zeke. She would want for nothing. Nothing at all.

When Scotty dropped him off, Grisha nodded. “Be careful of the Titans.”

“Right. You should be the one who’s told that.” Scotty looked around. “Night should be on your side, but there are those who aren’t-”

”Yes, I’m well aware.” Grisha swallowed and then prepped a syringe and gave his sleeping daughter the immortality serum. With this, she had a fighting chance-  _ Who am I fooling? If I die then my one year old is going to die with me, serum or not. _ He looked around and then exhaled slowly before hurrying to the encampment of Restorationists who lived in a lagoon area that was completely surrounded by high cliffs. The Titans couldn’t smell them so near the sea brine and it could only be accessed by Humans from the single mouth of the lagoon opening. Splashing down into the water from the boat, Grisha nodded to Scotty in thanks for helping him with his equipment and bags. 

Only fifteen Humans were allowed to live at the encampment, any more and Titans could smell them. Grisha wouldn’t be staying there long. He came with the medicine they needed and the rations. Scotty came once every month and smuggled them the food. Grisha planned on hunting for them as a Titan before leaving for the walls. He looked at the map on the back of the wall of the main headquarters. 

Inani, the leader of the camp, smiled at him sadly. Clearly Scotty had told her while unloading the supplies. “Grisha, if there’s anything you need…”

“Thank you, Inani, but I have everything I need. What I want is…impossible to gain at this point in time.”

“I understand.” She nodded towards the map. “The red dot is us. The lines streaking from the south, Shiganshina, are soldiers from within the walls battling it out against the Titans to map more territory. As you can see, they never make it far before the Titans push them back.”

“If only they knew that they should map the north instead. Titans hate the cold.” Grisha looked to the northern mountains. 

“Yeah. We have several observation lookouts there for Marley ships, just in case Marley decides to stop playing around with their food.” Inani scowled. “We aren’t equipped for a full scale war…”

“Yes, but once Marley finds out what we’ve been keeping secret-”

“The entire population within the walls are sitting ducks. Sitting,  _ ignorant _ ducks. Sitting, ignorant,  _ oblivious _ ducks!” She growled. “I really fucking hate the Coward King.” That’s what all the Restorationists called the first king of the walls, King Karl Fritz.

“What do you have so far on his line?”

“Nothing. We know nothing much, only from what we’ve observed from the Scouts. We’ve never set foot inside the walls. Didn’t know how much we’d stand out. Searching through the remains of the Scouts though, we’ve found diaries and pictures. Come on. I’ll show you what we’ve collected on them.”

Grisha adjusted his grip on his daughter.  _ She’ll be getting hungry soon. _ “Do you have milk?”

“Goat’s milk.”

“That will be fine. She has no allergies.”

“Alright. I’ll have the cook warm some up for her.”

“Body temp if you can.”

“Sure thing.”

Grisha focused on the materials that they had collected. He had his work cut out for him, but- “Why haven’t you contacted the Scouts?”

“Well, from this diary,” she waved the book in the air gently, “we’ve managed to glean that the Scouts are considered a drain on resources and a laughingstock branch of the military. They don’t have hardly any push in the government. Also, we’re fairly certain that the king erased all the people’s memories. They have no understanding of the outside world. They think they’re the last of Humanity!”

Exhaling, Grisha shook his head. “A hundred years of damage. Integrating them into modern society will be a hassle.”

“You’re telling me.” Inani shook her head. “I don’t envy the one who has to do it.” She glanced at the little girl in his arms before moving on. “These are called ODM gear. I don’t know what it stands for, but Dr. Shepherd has guessed that it might stand for Omni-Direction and Movement gear. But we can’t be certain, so just use the phrase ‘ODM’ and leave it at that, should it ever come up. The thing runs on compressed air from Ice Burst Stones, so they do have tanks and equipment, but they still have horses and use these frankly amazing grapplers to anchor themselves and move fast around the Titans. I’ve seen them do things that no military anywhere in the world has managed to do.” She looked at him seriously. “Grisha, these are flesh paring blades that can cut through Titan flesh like a hot knife through butter. Don’t know how they made them, but they’re amazing. We’ve become pretty adept at using them ourselves, taking them off the bodies of the fallen soldiers and giving those soldiers proper burials at night.” Inani frowned in sadness before pushing on. She continued explaining things to him about what they had devised went inside the walls. 

He listened avidly and then looked at the map again. “So I should enter through Quinta?”

“It’s the closest outcropping city on Maria. The easternmost city.” Inani frowned and pressed her fists on her hips. “However, if you want to move through the Scouts- because they are the most open minded of all the military branches- then you should go to Shiganshina. Also, the gates there are almost always opening and closing for the Scouts. You could possibly sneak in easier.”

“Of course.” Grisha swallowed and then looked at everything they had collected. “I’m leaving my daughter with you for the time being. Please. I need to ascertain the distance and danger.”

Inani smiled and nodded. “We’ll take care of her. A small child won’t make that much more difference.”

“Thank you.” Grisha handed Erin over to her and then hurried to get ready. He swam out to the mouth of the lagoon and then shifted before swimming further. Everything inside him hated the water when he was a Titan. It made his skin crawl. He wanted to  _ get out _ . Clenching his teeth, Grisha made it to the shore and then shook himself off a little before running off to get the lay of the land. 

His daughter stayed in the encampment while he lived for months at a time in the walls as a doctor. He made his way all the way to Rose, becoming a very prominent doctor. And then…he became recommended to pay a house call on the Reiss Family. One look at the daughter’s eyes informed him exactly of what she was. The Coordinate. It had taken him one and a half years to locate her. He finally had. Keeping his mind completely blank so she wouldn’t notice him, he waited and then followed them to the chapel. He snuck inside it and saw them praying. They sensed him immediately. Grisha spoke up softly, “Would you have the people live in fear forever?”

“It is the will of the King. This is peace, doctor.” Frieda stood up. “This is peace.”

“Do you not even realize that you are dead? Frieda Reiss was dead the moment she took in the Coordinate. This isn’t you. This is a shell of a girl overwhelmed by the convictions of a king too afraid to do his duty to his people. What would you do if Marley attacked and the walls shattered?”

Frieda frowned. “I would pray for the poor people to have peace when their time has come. To live away from the world, apart from the world, this is what we must do to remain unified and at peace.”

“Peace? I wonder if you truly know what you’re saying. I wonder if the true Frieda Reiss is crying to be let free, to be let out. I wonder…well then, so be it.” Stabbing his hand, Grisha swallowed and stared at them as he transformed.  _ I have my answer. You will keep the people enslaved. You will only ‘pray’ for the people as Titans you could control consume them. You stayed your hand for one hundred years, but now…oh Coward King, now your reign is over. _


	3. Princess of Eldia pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the Scouts.

He killed them all and took the Coordinate. It was nothing he could control, but Grisha didn’t have the immortality serum. He had become a shifter before he had it. He only had ten years left to live, and while he would have loved to see Erin grow up, he couldn’t now. He couldn’t now. Fleeing the night, he rushed out of Rose, out of Maria and shifted and ran. The Titans were attracted then. They attacked him. They ripped into him even as he kept running. He kept running and running and running and then crawling and crawling. He fell over the cliff of the encampment, killing the Titan that had fallen with him. The other Titans wandered around before wandering off, unable to jump to get him. Pulling himself out, Grisha panted softly and then didn’t say anything to Inani as he moved towards Erin’s crib. She was asleep. 

“Grisha?”

“I have it, but should I give it to her? I saw the damage that the Coward King’s Vow could do. Will it affect her? Will I only be damning her to live a half life?” His hands were shaking. “I cannot do it.”

“You must. She isn’t of his line. She has fresher blood.”

“She’s a child.”

“With the serum you gave her, she won’t be dead at thirteen.”

“I know, but…shouldn’t she have a choice?”

“She’s royalty, Grisha.”

Exhaling, Grisha picked up his daughter and then swallowed. “I’ll wait until she’s three.” Six more months.  _ Please, I want just six more months with my little girl. _

“Very well, Grisha.”

Grisha, in the end, waited until she was five. For each and every day, he wrote a letter to her. There were hundreds of letters. All the topics were written on the envelope. One letter could be about her mother. The other about Liberio and the nicer things about it. Some were about his dreams for her, others were about his family or his childhood. Some more just contained sketches. Others contained lectures about science and medicine and his discoveries. All of his books were encoded, and Grisha did his hardest to sear them into his memory for the Coordinate, just so his daughter would have them instinctively. He pushed his own convictions of the salvation and unification of their people, hoping that would be enough to either overcome or neutralize the Coward King’s fears. Then, he and ten others snuck out at dawn and while they waited in the trees, he settled his confused daughter on the ground. 

“Papa?”

“It’s going to be alright, Darling. It’s going to be alright. Papa loves you. I love you so much.” He kissed her forehead and then injected her with the Titan spinal fluid. “I love you.” She shifted with a scream, and Grisha closed his eyes and exhaled. 

~in that moment~

Erwin frowned and looked at his commander. “I heard a scream. It didn’t sound like a Titan.”

“Where?”

“In those woods.”

“Alright. We can give it a look.” He shot the green smoke and changed course. Erwin raced ahead and kept a look out, but for some strange reason, there were no Titans in the area. Wait!

“Titans- coming our- what the hell?!” Hanji gaped as the Titans, about fifteen of them, just ran past them, as if being chased by the devil. She stared at Shadis and then at Erwin. “What?”

They made it further into the forest and stared at the sight. A Titan corpse was steaming beside the remains of a man. Erwin frowned and dismounted. Something crunched under his boot. Moving his foot away, he saw glasses. Picking them up, he looked over when Levi gave a shout.

“Over here! A kid!”

“What?!” Erwin and Shadis rushed over and stared. The five year old girl was sobbing and calling for her daddy, pointing over to…the corpse of the man. Erwin flinched. “They must have moved beyond the walls, not believing anything about the Titans.” It happened sometimes. Sadly. He approached the child while the others looked around, keeping watch. 

“G-get away from me!” 

Erwin hesitated. There was something compelling about her voice. Shaking it off, he smiled at her. “What’s your name?”

“E-Erin.”

“Erin. That’s a nice name. How old are you, Erin?”

She stared at him with watery green eyes. “F-four.” She furrowed her brows and counted on her fingers. “No. Five.”

“Oh wow.” Hanji leaned against Levi. “That is adorable.”

“You’re quite a grown young lady.” Erwin smiled at her and then shifted a little bit more so Mike and Klause could take the body out of her sight. Her green eyes looked at him. 

“I want my papa…”

“You’re…” Erwin swallowed. “I’m sorry, Erin. Your papa isn’t…isn’t well. He’s being taken to the hospital.”

“My papa is a doctor. Doctors can’t get sick!” She said it with such conviction. 

Erwin swallowed and then shifted a little closer to her. “Well, they actually can, Erin, and your papa is very sick. He…he wants you to be strong. Okay? He wants you to be brave for him.” She stared at him and then nodded slowly before sniffling and raising her hands up to him in the universal sign of ‘pick me up’. Slowly, Erwin picked her up and stood up. She immediately buried her face into his cloak and started crying again, but this time the tears were softer, calmer. She was coming down from her terror and was slowly…yep. Erwin swallowed and looked up. “I think she’s asleep.”

Levi eyed her and then snorted. “Yeah, she’s out.”

“Erm…” Erwin made to unload her onto Levi, who skipped neatly out of reach. 

“I am not your damn babysitter, Eyebrows. I kill Titans. I don’t babysit brats.”

“Levi! That’s rude.”

“Hanji?” Erwin gave her a hopeful look. Eyes growing wide, Hanji waved her hands. 

“Ah, no, no, no. Sorry Erwin, but I don’t think the kid would like me. Besides, I’m covered in Titan blood. Bad infection risk!” 

Erwin looked at Mike, who didn’t make eye contact with him. “She likes your smell. Not mine.” He remounted his horse. Erwin looked at them and then turned to his horse before freezing. He couldn’t get on with no hands. Someone sniggered. He turned to Shadis. 

“Commander?”

“Fine. Give her to me. But only until you mount your horse.”

Exhaling, Erwin handed the child over and then mounted his horse. He took the child back and then turned his horse around with them. The body of her father was stowed safely and wrapped up. The Titans stayed far away from them for the entire trip back, but they still watched them. Staring intently. It seemed to Erwin that they were all staring at  _ him… _

~Restorationist Encampment~

Inani stared at her fellows with wide eyes. “This could turn out to be very, very good or very, very bad.” She looked at the two Eldians who had snuck out of the walls. The Restorationists had saved them and taken them here and educated them about everything. “Jared and Francine Arlert. Are you two willing to go back and watch over her? You two know how to blend in better than we would.”

Francine swallowed. She looked at her husband, who immediately nodded. “We can get back to Armin. He’s about her age. They can grow up together. We’ll keep an eye on all of them.”

“Excellent. Thank you.” Inani looked at Grisha’s notes and research. He had never said what he had been working on, but it had been the reason he had delayed the transference. When he had completed all his research, he had shown that he was ready to die. “We’ll keep all his research hidden here. Until Erin is ready for it. Here, better take these with you. When she’s old enough, you can give them to her.”

“Right.” Taking the first year’s worth of letters from Grisha, Jared smiled at her and then saluted her as a Restorationist would. “It is an honor to further the glory of Eldia.”

They all saluted the couple and then escorted them to the walls that night. Francine and Jared were incredibly relieved when they found Jared’s father and Armin in good health. They moved them all from Shiganshina to Ehrmich, the same city where the Survey Corps headquarters was. 

~two days later~

Erwin exhaled slowly. Erin had asked after her papa every hour. He kept putting it off. How can a person tell a kid that their only parent was dead?! Now, Hanji, Mike, and Levi were glaring at him. 

“You can’t keep the kid in a limbo. She’ll find out, and she’ll get over it.” Levi’s voice was calm. “Just tell her.”

Exhaling once more, Erwin nodded and then left them in the hall and moved into Erin’s temporary bedroom in the Scout base. He knocked and then entered. “Erin?” She looked up and then smiled brightly at him.

“Is Papa better?”

His heart twisted. Sitting on her bed, he exhaled. “Erin…you’re papa was badly hurt by the Titan. He tried to fight, he tried to live…but…I’m sorry Erin. I’m so sorry.”

Her smile vanished slowly and tears welled up. “Papa is…dead?” Erwin had known the child had her tightly contain suspicions and worries. For a little kid, she was truly intelligent.

“Yes, Erin.” She flung herself into his arms and sobbed. Erwin held her tightly and soothed her by rubbing his hand down her hair and back. He stayed with her that night, just holding her. When she had finally cried herself into exhaustion, he tucked her into bed. However, she caught his sleeve and rubbed at her eyes. 

“Can you sing to me?”

“Of course, Erin.” He smiled softly, fondly. He sang a song in an old language, German it was called. His father had taught it to him. It was a lullaby. His baritone voice soothed her to sleep. Erwin stared at her tightly clenched hand around his sleeve cuff. Hanji peeked in and saw his predicament. Levi covered her mouth before she could squeal. 

Whispering, Hanji gave Erwin a wide smile tinged with sadness. “That little girl is the  _ cutest _ .”

“If you’re finished with cooing, maybe you can help?”

“Nope.” Levi leaned against the wall and smirked at him. “This is fun to watch.”

“Fuck you too, Levi.”

“No cursing in front of the child.” Hanji gave him a sharp look. Erwin blinked. 

“But she’s asleep.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Hanji had that…intensely serious look in her eyes that warned Erwin not to push. 

Swallowing, he nodded and then turned back to Erin. Finally, he sighed and gingerly pulled out of his jacket. Erin immediately tightened up around it and gave a soft sigh before falling deeper into sleep.

Levi blinked. “Okay…I have to admit it. That is cute.” They slipped out into the hall. 

Grinning, Hanji nodded. “I know right?!” 

Erwin exhaled slowly and then frowned in thought. 

Speaking up in his bored tone, Levi looked at him. “Now that she knows…the Scouts have no reason to keep her here…what orphanage are you going to send her to?”

The thought of sending Erin away frankly made Erwin feel sick. “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to think about it.”

“You can’t send her away!”

“Think, Shitty Glasses.” Levi shot her a look. “None of us can watch over her! She’d be safer in Sina.”

“But- you can’t!” Hanji stormed off. 

Levi gave a ‘tch’ and walked away. Erwin stared at the floor as he walked to his office and sat heavily in his chair. The next morning, Mike handed him a stack of pamphlets for orphanages that Shadis recommended to him. But…the more Erwin looked over them, the more he felt dread build up inside him.

Mike looked at him and then cleared his throat. “Erwin, there is another option.” He handed the man a pamphlet and left the office. Erwin stared at the adoption agency and then smiled softly. 

“Thank you, Mike.” Standing up, he hurried to Erin’s room, found it empty, and rushed to the mess hall. There! Breathing out, he entered it and blinked when he realized that Erin was wearing his jacket. It was a dress on her, but she merely shoved the sleeves further up her tiny arms and drank her purposefully cooled tea that Levi had made for her. She then tried to eat her food as neatly as she could because she clearly didn’t want to get a mess on his jacket. 

Erwin swallowed and then sat close to her. She looked up at him and gave him a subdued smile. “Hello.”

“When will Papa be…” She swallowed and stared down at her plate. “Buried?”

“Today. Closed coffin.” She blinked up at him and then smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

“Erin, do you want to live with other children who don’t have parents or…do you want to live with me? Or someone else?”  _ Nile might take her in. He has daughters her age. _ But again, the thought of sending Erin off to someone else, even if it were Nile, made anxiety peak inside him. 

Her eyes were wide. “Can I live with Aunt Inani?”

“I…don’t know who she is. Where does she live?”

Erin frowned and then looked down. “You have to know her. She was with Papa and me in the forest.”

Erwin closed his eyes and stopped his curse. Hanji swallowed and then spoke up, “Erin, honey, you were the only one in the forest. The only one…alive.” Erwin watched her little face crumple into grief and denial. However, she didn’t cry. She swiped repeatedly at her eyes and didn’t cry. 

“Then…” She swallowed. Her voice quivered. “I wanna live with you.” She looked up at Erwin. “Can I? Please?”

Pulling her into his arms and a hug, Erwin smiled and nodded. “Yes Erin. I’d love for you to live with me. Thank you.”

She smiled at him and then pushed her sleeves up again and ate her meal once he deposited her back into her chair. Levi watched on, silent as a spectre. His face was inscrutable. 

After that, the days slipped by with Erwin splitting his time and attention between Erin and his work. His sterile office slowly transformed into something completely different. There were child drawings and professional sketches and pictures of him and Erin. Sometimes Hanji and Mike entered the picture too. Levi never posed, but he was always there, watching over Erin carefully, making sure the girl remained clean and neat. The Scouts adored her. She was always over at the base, cheerful and sweet. Though they could hear the squad commander singing to her each night and soothing her tears. Each morning she showed up to the mess hall wearing Erwin’s jacket. It had somehow become her security blanket. It was quickly becoming clear to everyone that little Eren had her new daddy wrapped around her finger


	4. Amnesia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erin woke up one day in a shack with absolutely no memory of who she was. But, she's determined to find her family, and find them she will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU with female Eren Jaeger. Don't worry. Though I love writing genderbend stories, there will be male Eren Jaeger in these stories too. : D  
> Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you want!   
> Ink...

A young girl slowly looked around. She was in an abandoned shack. Struggling to her feet, she staggered towards the only window in the room. Peering through it, she frowned when she came to the realization that she was in the middle of the woods. 

_ But what woods? Where am I? Actually… _ Her breathing quickened. “Who am I?” She looked over herself, checking her head for injury. Her hands came back sticky with partly congealed blood.  _ Partly congealed…time’s passed. Whatever happened…it’s been long enough for my head injury to start healing. Where am I? Maybe I have family nearby? _ Swallowing thickly, she slumped against the wall and checked her surroundings again. There was nothing. No purse, no sign of another person besides her. There was lots of blood, but nothing else. 

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to walk to the door and open it. She entered into the small kitchen. Stumbling a little, she limped to the door that led outside. Pulling it open, she inhaled the fresh air and then started coughing. 

_ I’ve got a shirt and pants and shoes. Clothes look expensive. Am I from a rich family? Got no ID. No phone. Nothing… _ She looked around and then started walking towards the path that led into the woods. Maybe there was a town nearby…

~five years later~

Erin- or so she chose to call herself- slipped through the streets at complete ease. This was her territory. 

She still had no clue who she was, not even a flicker of memory. However, that hadn’t stopped her from surviving.  _ I have to survive. I have to fight to live. Even if I don’t know who I am, I can’t give up. Giving up is just another way to lose. I  _ hate _ losing! _ She gritted her teeth and then ducked into another alley. Her eyes widened as she realized how close she had come to entering another territory. 

She stared at the two teen guys that were leaning up against the walls of the opposite building. They were staring at her. She smiled and waved and then slowly eased away from the border between the two territories. 

She wasn’t desperate enough to enter the Underground Area. Oh no. She wasn’t stupid or suicidal enough for that. She was quite happy surviving on her own in the Titan Territory.

Ducking around behind a dumpster, she watched a Titan patrol pass by. Grinning, Erin followed them to their headquarters and watched, listening closely to their passwords. She had been studying their security for a while now, watching, waiting, studying them until she had every single phrase memorized. 

Tonight was the night. She slipped off to her shack in the woods where she had first woken up five years ago. No one knows who she was or where she lived. She was happy with that. 

Eccentric Erin was what some of the more educated street dwellers called her. The rest simply called her Bat. Short for Batshit Crazy. Of course, her friends- the few she had- simply called her Erin.

Erin grabbed her backpack that she had bought with money she had earned by smuggling. Stuffing it with a sturdy rope and grappling hook, a flashlight, a balaclava, a first aid kit, a hunting knife, a gun, a couple of packs of ammo, and a ring with an upside down diamond in it, Erin shoved the pack on her cot and started dressing for her part. She pulled on shoes that she had stolen and painted black. She changed her shirt into a black long sleeve that she had stolen off a clothesline. 

Pulling on her gloves, Erin grinned and slung the backpack over her back and started her way back to the headquarters. She waited until it was dark and then threw her grappling hook onto the roof and slowly climbed her way up to third story where she knew the gang held all their records and files. Pulling out the ring, Erin carved a rectangle into the glass and popped it out. Reaching through the gap, she flicked the catch on the window and pulled it open. Grinning, Erin climbed in and pulled up the rope so no patrol would notice. They didn’t patrol the roof, so the hook was safe. 

Using her memory of the blueprints she had swiped from the city hall for this building back when it was made in the fifties, Eren crept down the hall and avoided all the patrols, ducking whenever one nearly caught her.  _ I hate it when they decide to be erratic about their routes. Changing it up every few days. So inconsiderate of them. _ She huffed quietly and kept on going. 

She finally came upon the room that they kept all their records and receipts.  _ If the Titan Gang was the one responsible for my attack in the cabin, then it should be here along with who I am and my background. If I’m a failed hit, then the records should be here. Please let it be the Titans! It isn’t the MPs, and I don’t know what I’d do if it were the Underground… _

Erin swallowed and kept going through the files that contained all the ‘business transactions’ of the year 2012.

So far she had hit nothing. Blowing a breath out, she flipped through the last file. Straightening in surprise, Erin gaped. That was a photograph of her!

Reading quickly, she absorbed the information.  _ Wren Carla Jaeger, born 2002 in Paradise Hospital to Dr. Grisha Jaeger and Carla Jaeger, with a half brother Zeke Jaeger.  _

_ Target: Kidnap Wren Jaeger for ransom.  _

_ Payment: 500,000 gold units _

_ Client: R.R. _

Erin stared at her parents' names.  _ He can’t be the same Doctor Jaeger who owns those huge private hospitals! He’s worth millions! _ Erin stared at the file in her hands.  _ I was obviously not given back. Did he not pay for me? Why wasn’t I killed? Ransoms usually end that way. Why not me? Did I try and fight back? Why did the men vanish? Did they think they killed me? Why didn’t they simply shoot me instead of hit me over the head? Were they interrupted? By whom? And why didn’t that person help me or finish me off? Have my parents tried to locate me? Do they care? _

Closing the file and putting it back, Erin fixed the mask over her face again and took a breath.  _ There is no way I can get answers just by standing here. I have to find Jaeger and ask him myself. _ With a nod, Erin wondered who this R.R. was, but she shook it off. He obviously didn’t want her dead or that would have been included in the instructions. The file was marked complete, so they must have gotten paid…  _ Maybe my parents do actually care…? _ She shook it off and focused on getting out of the building. 

Cracking open the door, she peeked out and then slipped into the hall. She silently hurried down the hall towards the stairwell. Her heart suddenly stopped when she heart the footsteps of someone coming nearer. There was nowhere to duck! Pulling out her gun, she checked the silencer and then leaned into a shadowed corner and waited. It was only one person, a really tall, freckled kid. Erin took aim and started pulling her trigger, but she held back when someone called out to him.

“Berty! Wait!” A blonde came up and smiled at him. They exchanged a kiss. “Come on. You don’t have to report until dawn. Let’s go back to my room.” She winked and tugged him along. He chuckled and started walking away with her. Erin held completely still but neither looked behind them. She let out a breath when their chattering faded. 

Looking around for guards and cameras, she entered the stairwell and climbed to the roof. Slipping around the stationed guards was easy. The roof was filled with shadows and it was three in the morning. The teens were obviously new recruits and weren’t all that interested in guard duty. Erin retrieved her grappling iron and put it in her backpack. 

Strapping it securely around her shoulders, she started climbing down the side of the building. She had realized that freestyle climbing was a huge benefit when it came to sneaking around high rises and apartment buildings. Erin didn’t care about heights. She wasn’t bothered with falling either, or what generally came after falling. 

It didn’t take long for her to reach the ground. Swiftly, she slipped off into the night. They wouldn’t know she had been there until they saw the rectangular cut in the window glass, and even then, they wouldn’t be too bothered since nothing was missing. No one knew what she looked like, because she always wore her black balaclava during heists and no one knew that the Rogue was Batty Erin.

Smirking, Erin should have watched where she was going, but her guard was down now that she was far away from the headquarters. She had long since taken off her mask and had thrown on a jacket to cover her black shirt. She had shoved her gloves into her backpack. 

Stumbling, Erin got a look at who she had run into. It was a blond, very lean guy. “Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She tried for a smile and then moved past him and walked onwards. She could tell he was looking at her, but she was used to that. A fifteen year old girl wasn’t supposed to look as pretty as she did. Erin had to work hard to evade pimps and kidnappers who worked for slavers. 

As she turned the corner, she risked a glance back and found the blond was gone. Shrugging, she hurried home.


	5. Attack On Titan Online

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The VRMMORPG Attack On Titan Online is launching soon courtesy of Tyber Entertainment! This cannot possibly go wrong.   
> Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A crossover that I have been too scared to actually turn into a full-blown story.   
> Here's a snippet! Thanks for reading! : D  
> Ink...

Eren Jaeger stared at the ceiling with a tired groan before shaking his head and standing up. He turned up the volume on the TV in his room and watched the news. 

_ “Attack on Titan Online is launching in three hours. The VRMMORPG, that is Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, Attack On Titan Online is an international hit, and several fans have been camped out here for a week waiting for this day to come!” _

Eren turned back to his nerve gear and smirked before picking up the headset. His phone vibrated. It was Armin.

_ >Can’t wait for the launch time! Thanks again for getting me the game. I’m all set in my gear right now. This is history in the making, Eren! I can’t believe it! The first full dive virtual reality video game!< _

Laughing, Eren shook his head. “Of course he geeks out about the history and not the game itself.” He quickly texted back.

_ >No problem Armin. Zeke worked on the game project and got the game for free from Tybur Entertainment.< _

_ >Even got you a beta slot. Lucky S.O.B. you are!< _

Snorting, Eren sat down on his bed and exhaled slowly and then looked up when he heard Mikasa come into the house. “Eren?!”

“In my room!”

She bounded up the stairs and then looked at him from the open doorway. “Seriously? You’re diving again?”

“My day off, and I can do what I like with it.” He rolled his eyes and then looked over at her. “What’s wrong with that?”

She shrugged. “Don’t like seeing you all…limp and lifeless. It’s…” She turned away and tucked her scarf over her face. Erin exhaled and hauled himself of his bed and pulled her into a tight hug. 

“Mikasa, it’s going to be fine. It’s just a game. I told you to get a copy so you could join me.”

“I did. I asked Zeke, and he got me a copy. I paid him back, but…” Mikasa swallowed. “I didn’t know if I should. You don’t like training in the dojo with me and…video games was always your-”

Eren pulled away and cupped her face, prompting her to look up at him. “Mikasa, you can dive with me. I’ll show you the ropes. You can become a Scout or even an innkeeper.”

She laughed softly and then looked at him carefully. “What’s the game about anyways?”

“Post-apocalyptic world filled with massive humanoid monsters who eat people. The last of Humanity is trapped- or safe depending on your point of view- behind three concentric walls called Maria- the outermost wall- Rose, and then Sina is the innermost wall where all the nobles live.”

“Middle class in Rose?”

“Yeah. Farmers and poorer people in Maria, pretty much.”

“Huh. What then?” She swallowed and looked at the time. It was five till. Eren walked into her bedroom, grabbed her gear and then hooked it up and slotted in her game too. They sat on his bed together. 

“Well, then all the people are split up into four groups. Civilians, and then three branches of the military, Scouts, Military Police, and Garrison. The goal of the game is to retake the island from the Titans, and to explore all the land within the three walls. We all start in Wall Maria at the first floor, so to speak, called Shiganshina, and then we spread through the land, exploring, claiming quests, defeating bosses and getting closer and closer to the next wall. Rose. There’s a massive boss there, and then Rose is unlocked, and we go into that land and explore and unlock the different towns and sections until we get to Sina. Another boss, and then we fight the fourth and final boss within the walls. Once the land within the walls is ours, we start exploring and claiming the Titan Territory beyond the walls. The game is over once all the land is ours and the last Titan is dead. Then we can just run around trading, maxing out skill sets and leveling up. We can challenge other players and start new guilds and jobs and such. There’s money, about five hundred different skill sets, and two hundred real life jobs to master, and you can master more than one. So a person can be a Scout, a chef, an assassin, a street fighter, and a melee master all at the same time. You can start as an MP and then transfer to the Garrison and keep all her past skills too.”

“And that’s not done often in other games?”

Eren chuckled. “Not often. When the character starts, they choose what they want to be and stick with it to the end, but this way, you can start as something, switch halfway through the game and keep all the XP. Or you can max on several skills and jobs at a time.”

“XP?”

“Experience points.” Eren smiled at Mikasa and then nodded. “Launches soon. Helmet on.”

She nodded quickly. “I’ve already calibrated it to me and chosen my avatar, but that’s as far as I went.”

“Good. You won’t have to waste time then.” Eren quickly logged in, knowing that Mikasa did too. Just as they entered the game, Mikasa slipped her hand into his. He squeezed it. “Link…start!”

They went in. Eren quickly found Armin and then pulled them out of Shiganshina to the outside lands. “When I betaed for the game, I found a town not far from here that has a really cool quest.”

“Eren, shouldn’t we teach Mikasa how to fight first?”

“I know how to fight.” Mikasa frowned at him. Armin gave her a sheepish smile. 

“I meant in the game.”

“IRL skills don’t transfer to the game, Mika.” Eren snorted and then pulled out his sword. His avatar had short black hair and blue eyes, and he was dressed in common clothes with a long sword sheath strapped to his back. “Okay, when aiming for a target, hold the pose until it feels right. The system pretty much allows the first strike to always be a hit if you do.” Mikasa frowned at him before swallowing and focusing. She lifted her hunting dagger and shifted into a stance. The dagger glowed and just as Armin kicked the boar into her path, Mikasa released her strike and killed it. She gasped and beamed at him. 

“I killed one!”

Laughing, Eren nodded and then pointed to the other boars just respawning. “They’re here for leveling up the slow and easy way, which is what I recommend for you. Gaining experience points and gaming experience aren’t the same, not for VR games. The more battles and duels you win the more adjusted you get to your body in game. These are just thirty points each but still, grinding is the smarter way to go for beginners.”

“Grinding?”

“Taking the longer road to gaining XP or mastery in a skill.” Armin was quick to explain. Mikasa nodded and looked at Eren. 

“Then let’s keep at it.” She gave Eren a look of determination. “What level were you at when you betaed?”

Eren winced. “Erm, I leveled up to twenty in the month I tested it.”

Armin gaped at him. “Seriously?! What floor did you get to?”

“Floor ten.” Eren exhaled slowly. “It wasn’t easy. I died maybe seven times during that stint.” He rolled his eyes but then grinned. “I know how the game system works now though. It should be fun. I’ll help you both out. Wanna form a guild?”

“Sure. Whatta we call it?” Armin grinned. 

Mikasa swallowed and looked at Eren before speaking calmly, “The Rogues?”

Rogue had been the name of their pet German Shepherd, who had just died a few weeks ago. Eren’s breath caught and then he smiled and nodded before looking at Armin, who grinned and nodded. They formed a group and named it that, and then Eren continued training both Armin and Mikasa on how the game worked. When it was time to log out, Armin was the one who noticed first. 

“Huh.” He stared at the menu. “There’s…no logout here.”

Feeling ice begin to form in his gut, Eren quickly checked his own and swallowed. “Shit. This won’t be good for the game’s rep.”

“This won’t be good for us! Aunt Carla is about to come home, and you know how much she hates video games!” Mikasa stared at Eren. “We were supposed to make dinner, and she’ll flip out! We won’t be allowed to dive again! ”

Eren blanched. “Oh shit.” Armin rubbed at his face tiredly. 

“We’re all in deep crap.” He straightened. “I have a work shift in thirty minutes.”

Wincing for his friend, Eren opened his mouth and then froze when he heard the bells. They all vanished and appeared in the town square of Shiganshina. “A forced teleport?” Eren frowned and looked at Mikasa and Armin. They stared up at the top of the wall. There was a symbol blinking in the sky. Suddenly the entire area was encased in a red field and out oozed what looked like blood and formed into the Game Master.

“I am William Tyber of Tyber Entertainment. Most of you have probably noticed by now that the menu is missing one function, the logout button. This is not a mistake. None of you are allowed to leave until you defeat this game. To do so, you must take control of the walls and all the land beyond it, but be aware, if you die in the game, then you stay dead. The moment your health bar goes into the red and vanishes, you die in real life too.”

Eren felt his blood roar in his ears. Distantly, he heard Armin explaining how the nervegear worked to Mikasa, who was in just as much shock as Eren was. He knew what Armin was saying. The microwaves would kill them, and if someone attempted to remove the headset from their heads… Eren stared at the news videos and article clips floating around the Game Master. 

“You might all be wondering why am I doing this. It’s simple. I wanted a world where I controlled it. This is my world, and you are in it, to survive and to win. Also, keep in mind, there is more to the game plotline than meets the eye. I have randomly selected nine individuals in this game to have the skill set ‘Shifter’. This is like any other skill and must be leveled up and maxed out. There are nine different Shifter types and a player can take more than one. These Shifters all can turn into Titans and go into Titan Territory. Shifters are also unable to die in the game, and their avatar bodies can regenerate even after crucial hits. There is only one way to kill a Shifter, by taking the Shifter skill for yourselves. Also, there is another group of players, number unknown, who have been given combat skills beyond the average player’s limit. They are called the Ackerman Clan Members. This skill cannot be stolen, and the Ackermans cannot become Shifters. If you try, then you will die immediately in both the game and in real life.”

Eren staggered to his knees before slowly looking at Mikasa. Her first ever video game. Her  _ first  _ ever… He just got his inexperienced sister trapped in a death game. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be real!”

The Game Master, Tyber, continued. “Upon unlocking the different towns, random players will be given the option of receiving ‘promotions’ such as becoming Captain of the King’s Guard, joining the King’s inner council. These promotions will only appear after a select set of choices and experiences have been accomplished by that player, opening that player up to the opportunity. And now, all of you will see that there is something new in your items list. Please bring it out now.”

Eren numbly looked at his items and frowned. “A mirror?” Mikasa screamed beside him and was suddenly lit up in white light. Eren realized the same was happening to Armin and the others and even himself. Then the light faded and- he gaped. “You look like you now!”

Armin gasped before looking at the Game Master. “The calibration at the start showed our proportions and size and the camera in the headset scanned our faces!”

Pulling a face, Eren looked disgusted. “Creepy.”

Tyber was speaking again. “Good luck, Players, and may the best win.”

It was, of course, pandemonium after that. Eren grabbed Armin and Mikasa and yanked them out of Shiganshina. “Look, it’s gonna get hairy real fast. This town and all the lands around it are gonna be wiped clean of quests and hunting areas. We can head to the next town over fast. Orfa is close by and hasn’t been tagged yet. We stay one step ahead of the crowd, stay out in the boonies and keep our ears to the ground for information about quests and drops.” He looked at Armin. “You need to become an info broker. I’ll be the main fighter until Mikasa gets her skills higher, then she and I can switch. You are healer and backup, just like your job and skills state.” Armin nodded resolutely.

“Sure thing, Eren. What about the other betas?”

“Don’t rely on them.” Eren scowled. “Most of them were so green, that they didn’t know how to level up. I and another player were the only ones who had betaed other games and knew what we were doing. I reached higher levels than him, but he was still a good player.” Eren scowled. “An obnoxious and offensive assclown, but a good player.”

“Who?”

“Some guy named Jean Kirstein. No idea what his in-game name is.” Eren huffed and then continued walking with them down the path. Armin looked at the town. 

“But what about the others?”

“We can’t worry about them, Armin. This is very real now.” Mikasa spoke before Eren could. “We can’t get ourselves killed.”

“But surely we can help them out-”

“Not without getting ourselves killed.” Mikasa was firm. “This is a crashing plane. We help ourselves first before helping others.” Armin couldn’t say anything to that, and so they hurried to the next town over and focused on leveling up. Mikasa quickly got the hang of it, like she did in everything else, and she and Eren snuck through the towns and unlocked lands and territories, leaving most of the big game to other players. Mikasa had gone with the name ‘Miasak’ and Armin had gone with ‘Narmi’. Eren hadn’t played with his name. Instead, he took the English translation of Jaeger and called himself ‘Hunter’. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Game Playing Explained:
> 
> Willie told each third of the group of players who spawned in the game a different plotline story. There were three different versions of the game. 
> 
> Attack on Titan Online (Marley) was sole to Asian and northern Asia/European countries.   
> ~ The goal for the people in Marley is to conquer the countries around them (the different bosses) and the final boss was attacking and wiping out all the NPCs in Paradise Island.
> 
> Attack on Titan Online (Paradise) was sold to the Americas and all of Europe.   
> ~The goal for the people in Paradise is to conquer the Titans and later to defeat Marley and get off the island.
> 
> Attack on Titan (Titan Lands) was sold to Africa and Mid-East/Europe.   
> ~The goal for the players who spawned in as Titans were to kill the NPCs (who were real players), before they were killed, and eat all of them.
> 
> *The game program is skewed so the rich, snobbish sort of players all are able to become the nobles in Paradise, and the military officers in Marley, and they also become the Interior Brute Squad.
> 
> Plotline Explained:  
> The Shifters in Marley are convinced that these people in Paradise are just really well done NCPs. It's not until Zeke sees Eren at Wall Maria that he realizes, along with Reiner and Bertholt and Pieck that these are other players that they've killed. Bertholt tells Armin that he will commit suicide if they don't take his Shifter skill and kill him. Armin does kill him, and Bertholt dies IRL. Reiner and Zeke and Pieck speak with Erwin Smith and agree that they have to beat both versions of the game (not realizing that the Titans are players too) before being allowed to leave. Zeke appears guilt-ridden about the people he's killed, but Armin and Mikasa suspect him on being in on it with Tyber and try to turn Eren against him. Meanwhile, Reiner contemplates killing himself because of his guilt of killing thousands of players. Zeke convinces him to stay in the game so Gabi (Reiner's real-life little cousin) isn't forced to become a target by becoming a Shifter. 
> 
> Later on, Zeke finds cheat codes in the Tyber mansion and actually manages to log out. He tries to log back in, but it's locked from him. Because of this, Zeke is the first one out and is the only one who could explain what's going on in there. Zeke also tries to contacts Eren with what he's found about the game by messaging him, hoping that Eren gets it. It turns out that killing Tyber ends the game. 
> 
> Eren's the only one who thinks that Willie Tyber is the Final Boss. He knows this because he got Zeke's message. Eren can't message him back, but he received Zeke's advice about Willie being the boss. However, no one believes him about the messaging or the plan. Historia and a bunch of others think that broaching peace in the world is the key to unlocking the game and leaving it. Armin and Mikasa don't believe Zeke's message, because they think it's a trick done by Willie to turn Eren into a murderer. It's come out then that Eren and Willie knew each other back in high school in real life, and Willie was more than disturbingly obsessed with Eren Jaeger, wanting him to kill again just like he did with those criminals and Mikasa IRL. 
> 
> Eren breaks away from Armin and Mikasa's well-intentioned intervention and sneaks into Marley. He learns that Willie's sister was in on this whole thing. He also learns that the Titans were players too. He kills Willie's sister in the Boss Fight and takes her power and then fights Willie and kills him, releasing everyone from the game. Eren checks himself into a clinic (like a lot of other players do) and tries to recover from the traumatic ordeal. His in-game Scout friends band together and the story ends with hope for the future as they all slowly move on together from their guilt and trauma.


	6. Flower Gleam and Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange flower that looks like it dropped from the sun. A single doctor with a brain too big for the future world, and a single daughter, willing to do anything to regain her people's glory.

A thousand things would have been different if the Titans had attacked the walls before Grisha Jaeger returned home. A thousand things would have happened, and possibly Erin Jaeger would have been happier if he hadn’t come back, even if it cost her home, mother, humanity, and sanity. She would have been purer if he hadn’t made it before the fall. But he had.

And that is why this story exists.

~the day the Scouts returned~

Erin Jaeger stared at her father as he moved towards the door. “Behave while I’m gone, and I’ll show you what I’m doing down in the basement.” 

Feeling her entire face light up, Erin nodded to him eagerly. “Come back soon, Papa!”

Grisha Jaeger did come back. He came back one week after he had left. When he did come back, Carla reported that Erin had done her exercises with Mikasa, her homework with both Armin and Mikasa, and her chores without complaint.

Smiling softly, Grisha rustled his daughter’s dark hair and guided her down the wooden stairs. “We’ll miss lunch most likely, Carla.” He looked at her with a firm smile. Faltering, Carla slowly nodded.

“Alright, but don’t keep her past dinner, Grisha.”

“I’ll try not to.” He closed the wooden door and then locked it. Then, with the same key, he opened the metal door. Erin awed over it.

“A metal door! That must have been expensive, Papa!” Grisha chuckled and glanced at her as he opened it and led her inside. 

“Not really. I happen to have quite a bit of metal on hand.” He closed the door after her, clicking the lock in place before turning on the lights. 

“Papa?!”

“It’s called electricity, Erin. It’s advanced science.” He smiled at her as he sat her down and explained everything to her. 

So it began. The personal tutoring. Grisha introduced Erin to the world of science, but forbade her from telling anyone, including Mikasa and Armin, about what she was learning. He told her that the government knew, but was keeping it a secret. He told her about the world beyond their walls and small island. He told her the history of their people before their people had forgotten everything and believed the lies of the government. He told her everything he knew. And she never told anyone. 

The tutoring went on for the rest of the year (seven months). Erin learned quite a bit under her father. Then he started including her in his research. Taking some of her blood, showing her how to take his blood. He taught her how to do operations in the field, emergency first aid, cauterizing the wounds to stop the bleedings, healing burns, dealing with shrapnel, broken bones, dislocations, and even identifying diseases by first hand appearance of the person. They took walks through their small town and traveled to other places. He taught her how to notice different clues. The way the person talked, spoke, held themselves, sniffled, sneezed, eyes teared. She noticed scratch marks from itching and saw the reasons for them, identified types of rashes and how to solve them just by sight. She soon could surpass even the Sina doctors who were still letting blood.

Grisha was proud of his daughter. She absorbed information at an almost impossible rate. She learned fast and mastered anything he taught her with nearly frightening determination. She simply refused to fail at anything she did. “You’ll go very far, Erin.”

Laughing at his compliment, and hiding her rosy blush, Erin gestured to the vial on his desk. “Papa, what’s this golden liquid you’re making? You haven’t taught me about this yet. Is it an element?” She furrowed her brows in worry as she tried to remember what element it could be. Grisha shook his head.

“It’s a serum, Erin. Not an element. Don’t worry, you aren’t forgetting one.” She looked relieved and then curious again. 

“What is it supposed to do?”

“Heal all wounds. I found a flower that I learned from locals can give healing for everyday aches and pains. I took several samples of the flowers a during my last trip months ago and have found that the villagers don’t know what they have!” His glasses glinted in the firelight. “It’s amazing, Erin.” She leaned in and listened avidly to his explanation about how much the flower could do. It could even bring back youth and vitality! “It’s a miracle flower! What is it made of that could enable it to do this?!” Her green eyes were wide. Grisha sighed. “I don’t know. The components of the flower are impossible to identify. There are no similarities to other elements. In all rights, this flower should not exist.” He laughed outright at her gobsmacked expression. “I know. I was shocked when I realized that too. I’m planning on traveling back again to collect more. Perhaps start a garden with them. Would you like to help?”

She nodded, grinning like a loon. “Mikasa likes gardening. She can help too. Don’t worry, she doesn’t have to know what it does, just that it’s a flower for your medicine.” Grisha nodded in agreement and hummed in thought.

“Erin…would you be willing to test of theory of mine?”

She looked at him in confusion. “What theory is that, Papa?”

“That the elements of this flower, once liquified, can be adopted into the body of a living human and exercised at will.”

“Do you want me to inject you with it, Papa? Isn’t that dangerous without first experimenting with it?!”

“I am going to test it on animals first, Erin, don’t worry.” He laughed and ruffled her hair. However, he gave her a keen look. “Actually, if the serum works, I didn’t want you to give such a power to me. You’ve always wanted to be a Scout’s doctor, Erin. The best in all the Walls. What better way to do that than to become a host of a flower?”

Her eyes widened in shock, and she stared at the golden liquid. She thought about all the possibilities that could become reality if that flower worked on the animals. “Alright.” She grinned at him widely. “I’ll do it.”

“That’s my girl.”

It took several more months to perfect the serum, but Grisha and Erin finally did it. He, with Erin’s eager permission, injected it into his daughter after they were  _ certain  _ that Erin would survive and accept the serum. She did survive, and Grisha sang the song that activated the flower- a catalyst he hadn’t truly figured out yet- and her dark brown hair turned golden, like glowing, liquid gold. He quickly cut his hand and wrapped her longish hair around his hand before the hair could change to gold. When he finished the song and removed his hand, his cut was gone. He cut his hand again and sang the song again while Erin was recording the information. This time, he grabbed onto her skin and waited until he finished the song to check his hand again. It was still cut. 

Erin looked at him in confusion. He lifted a finger, wiped the knife and then spoke calmly while he picked up the syringe. “May I test your blood?” She nodded and held out her arm. He withdrew a vial of her blood and it came out red. He sang the song again and while Erin’s hair became gold yet again, so too did the blood. He poured the golden blood onto his hand, and it became healed.

Erin quickly scribbled this down before a wave of exhaustion came over her. She swayed in her seat. “Papa…”

Catching her, Grisha quickly checked and found she was simply passed out from exhaustion. Picking her up in relief, he cleaned up his station and put his- their- notes away. After making sure her needle mark was bandaged, he swiftly left his lab, locking up behind him, and put her to bed. 

~the next day~

Erin woke up and saw the letter that was beside her bed. It was in her father’s handwriting.

_ ‘Erin,  _

_ I have gone to that village again to collect more flowers. Hopefully, we can cultivate a garden together with them and spread health and wellness throughout the city. Do not tell anyone about your new abilities. The government would not want the people to become improved. You know this from their banning books on intelligent education.  _

_ Because of this, I do not want them to get you. They would use you, Erin. Treat you like a lab specimen instead of a little human girl who deserves rights and freedoms. When I return, we will experiment more with your abilities, but do not experiment on your own. Remember lab safety, Erin Jaeger. _

_ Your loving father, _

_ Grisha’ _

She put the letter under her mattress and quickly got ready for the day, but she froze when she saw her reflection.  _ Side effect of the serum no doubt. _ She stared at her formerly shoulder length hair that was now to her hips.  _ Well shit. How am I supposed to explain this to everyone who knows me?! _ She sighed and shook her head.

She didn’t have to worry about her hair for long. The Wall was broken through two hours later. Her mother was crushed to death. Her house was destroyed, and her papa’s lab was buried. Erin hadn’t had a chance to rescue any of her father’s journals or books, but she knew that the iron lining would withstand any Titan attack. Her father knew how to fight them off, and he taught her every trick he knew. All Erin had left was Armin and Mikasa and Armin’s grandfather. Erin stared at the rubble that was her hometown as it shrunk in the distance. Her father had been in the Maria countryside. The wall had just been ripped through like it was made of paper. The Garrison hadn’t been ready for this. No one had been. 

Her eyes locked on the grey and white Titan with strange armored skin. Hate seethed through her.  _ I’ll kill them all. Every. Last. One. Every single Marleyan will be dead by my hand! They can’t let well enough alone! My people were so far from a threat to them that it’s laughable. But now I’m the one who’s the threat. I’LL KILL THEM ALL! _

Armin and Mikasa looked at their friend with concern, but said nothing. 


	7. Daughter of Ymir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would happen if Erin grew up outside the walls?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Eren Kruger. It's fun. ; D  
> Ink...

Dina was terrified. So was he to be honest. Grisha swallowed tightly and looked around. His wife gripped his arm. “Are you certain we’re in the right place?”

“The Lion’s Door. Yes. The Owl said that we were to meet at the back entrance.”

“This feels like a trap. Why did he insist we leave Zeke with your parents? Why?”

“I don’t know, Dina. I really- shh!” Grisha tensed and looked into the shadows. A man stepped over to them. 

“I’m the Owl.”

“What was the first thing that the Owl did for those who seek Eldia’s glory?”

The man smirked and flicked his cigarette away. “Provide guns and ammunition, with a message. Never give up, never give in.”

Grisha slowly uncoiled. “What do you want? Why did you want us to come here? Without our son?”

“Did you tell him that you were going to a meeting at the Purple Hen Inn?”

“Yes-”

“Stay hidden. That place is right across the way.” He pushed them further into the shadows and forced them to be quiet. Very soon after, the Marleyans raided the place and arrested the group of people hiding inside. 

“Who were they?!” Dina stared at him. 

“A more violent group who wanted to bomb the Warrior’s Unit.”

“Our son…” Grisha slumped against the wall. “Why…”

“Some kids love their parents more than themselves. Other kids want to survive more than they love their parents. It’s life. You should stop hoping Zeke will help Eldia. Now, is it true? What they say about you? That you’re a brilliant scientist and doctor? That you are one of the most brilliant geneticists in this age?” He looked at Grisha Jaeger. “Do you really have the secrets of the Titan Powers unlocked?”

Grisha was stricken and pale and sweating. “How did you-”

“The Marleyans were going to arrest you tomorrow. I had to get you out of your house before then. I was there at the office when your boy called in about what he overheard you telling your wife. I realized that you are both very brilliant and very much in danger. You need to live for a very long time, which is why I want your wife to inherit my Titan powers.”

“Me?! But…I’m not a fighter.”

“That’s easy to overcome.” He studied her as they hurried towards the docks belonging to the Lion’s Door. “Learn to be. We don’t have much time.”

“My research! My notes!”

“It’s here.” The Owl pushed them into a speedboat and pulled away with the boat lights off. He had bribed the sentries that evening, saying he was going to have some fun with a few girls that night on the sergeant’s boat. They had laughed and agreed to turn the other way. Their mistake.

“How did you get my notes?”

“I stole them myself just after you left. I grabbed as much as I could of everything else you may want, including that family picture.”

“I can’t take the serum.” Dina looked at him. “I’m pregnant.”

The Owl exhaled slowly, realizing she was right. The woman looked heavily pregnant. He then looked at Grisha Jaeger. “I have two more years to live. When the kid is born, we do it then.” They made it to the island and snuck around the massive wall. He led them through the night to a cove that a person could only get to by boat. There, they started living quietly, foraging for food. Grisha used Kruger’s Attack Power to sneak into the walls and search for the Coordinate. They both found it, but Grisha stopped him from attacking the girl outright. 

“What?”

“There is a way to store the power.” Grisha swallowed. “When I was doing my research, I realized that it was very possible to store Titan Shifting Powers, the only key is that the original host of the power must be dead.”

“Easily done.” Eren Kruger stood up and went into the chapel. Grisha jerked and shuddered at the screams he could hear inside. “Grisha!” Hurrying in, Grisha swallowed and stared at the steaming girl. “Do you extract the power now or after she’s dead?”

“A-after. Surely we can reason with her though! Surely you don’t have to kill her?!”

“Look at her. Look at her eyes, Grisha.” Eren stared at him tiredly. “She won’t comply. She can’t.”

“The Coward King’s convictions.”

The girl gritted her teeth against the pain. “He’s not the Coward King! He’s only a follower of peace! You warmongers wouldn’t understand what peace is! You embrace the old ways of Eldia!” 

Eren Krugar gripped her by the neck. “I don’t expect you to understand this, Princess, but damning an entire race to eternal punishment by another race who is just as murderous and evil is not peaceful. It’s unjust and it’s wrong. You won’t understand that. You’re not even who you were before. You’re just a shell. A shell filled with hollow and empty words describing a hollow and empty peace. You are just as fake as peace is.” He cut her across the nape. Grisha leaped forward and pushed in the syringe and withdrew a very large amount of the girl’s spinal fluid. “That should be enough.”

“It will work?”

“Yes.” Grisha nodded, resolute. “It will work.”

“Good. We need to go.” He looked around and then hurried out with Grisha and past the walls. When they returned to the cove, Grisha breathed out in relief when he saw Dina was alright, he steadied himself and continued working on setting up his lab. Their little cove was turning into a beautiful home. Even though they had to tolerate the stink of the drying fish that they put up to cover their Human scent so the Titans wouldn’t smell them and track them down. 

Eren traveled back and forth, continuing his work in Marley and providing them everything they could need. When he was on his last year of life, he came back and entered the house where Dina was working in the living room. A baby crib against the wall was in the room with her. Eren looked at the tiny little one year old, laughing and giggling in her crib. She stared up at him with her strange green eyes and black hair. She was already a year old, and something inside him hurt that he wouldn't get to know the princess. Exhaling, he shoved that away and turned.

“It’s time, Dina.” Giving him a startled look, Dina sobered and then nodded slowly. She transferred her baby into a leash harness and walked out with her and Eren. The man had the Titan Serum ready.

“Wait!” Grisha came running out with a syringe in his hand and a needle in the other. “I’ve been working on this for the past year. It will counter the Curse of Ymir. You’ll live a full lifespan. You know that the legend says Ymir jumped in front of the king and allowed herself to succumb. I do not believe that to be true.” Grisha looked at Eren. “From what I’ve studied of your telomeres and white cell count, your body is truly wearing down. I believe that if you sustained an injury on your last year of life, a substantial injury, then you cannot heal. Your body gradually slows its regenerative healing processes the longer you live until it cannot regenerate any longer.”

“You’re saying that Ymir didn’t heal because she simply couldn’t?”

“Exactly. I believe that the Curse of Ymir is actually brought on by the healing factor using up a person’s energy that was meant for that person’s continued health and survival. It’s like always driving faster. You get to places quicker, but you run out of gas twice as fast. However, I have found a way to isolate the regenerative abilities of the Titans and mutate the Human DNA to copy that skill using not the energy that keeps us going but the energy from the  _ sun _ . With this slight alteration in the cells’ makeup, a person can keep that original energy for them and only activate the additional sun-fed energy when they are healing.”

Eren looked at Dina. “Do you understand him?”

“Nope, but that doesn’t stop him from always trying to teach me.” Dina had a proud and soft smile on her face as she looked at her half blushing half exasperated husband. 

“Very well. It doesn’t really matter how it works, only that it does. Suffice it to say, I have found a way for a person to be invulnerable against the Curse of Ymir.”

Eren Kruger stared at the syringe. “And if Dina took this and never got a Shifting Power?”

Faltering, Grisha looked at the man with wide eyes. “Well, without the Titan Power to take more energy than she could give, which should age her along the accurate lengths of time- if my math is correct-”

“And it always is.” Dina grinned.

“Thank you. If she didn’t have a Titan Power, then I suppose she would simply…live on. Like a Titan would. Constantly healing. However, unlike her nape, a certain region of her brain would have to be pierced to stop the regeneration of the cells.”

“If a Shifter, then the person would live to a ripe old age. If not a Shifter, then the person would be immortal?” Eren raised an eyebrow. “You have created an Immortality Serum, Doctor Grisha. I hope you don’t plan on advertising that.”

Grisha stared at the syringe and swallowed. “Ah.”

Eren rubbed his eyes tiredly. “You are dangerous all on your own. Making things for a single goal and failing to realize how dangerous that could be for another goal.”

Wincing, Grisha shrugged. “Apologies.”

“Well, give it to your wife. It’s time we got on with it. I’m tired. I’ve already destroyed the harbor behind the wall and provided the Restorationists everything they could need to keep them going for a while. I’m ready to go.” Grisha swallowed and then nodded before injecting his wife and then handing the syringe of Titan Serum to Eren and leaving the immediate area. He held his daughter and comforted her when the Titan scream of Dina echoed loudly and startled Erin awake. 

Kruger had been touched in his inscrutable way when he had found out that they had named their daughter after him. In a way, he would live on through that little girl and her mother. Erin Faye Fritz-Jaeger, Princess of Eldia. She held the hope of a nation. Time passed quickly for the little girl, and when Erin was two, Grisha gave her the Immortality Serum, and then, when she turned five, he gave her the Founding Power. She remained exactly the same. Erin Jaeger, a happy little girl who enjoyed playing with her ‘friends’…the Titans. She never spouted anything about peace or the walls. She only agreed with her father with her old, old eyes. 

“The Eldians were too violent in the past. But now they’re too weak. It’s time they found a rational and moderate way of living, Papa. I will guide my people to a true, unoppressive peace. An age of art and science and academia. Of knowledge and truth and freedom. It’s time they stopped being afraid of themselves and others. It’s time for the punishments to end and the redemption to begin.” Erin nodded calmly and smiled at her Mama and Papa.

They were greatly relieved. Through Erin’s knowledge, Grisha began to write a true and accurate historical account of the Nation of Eldia. From their very beginning to the current situation. He wrote the unvarnished truth, letting go of his young idealism and accepting the cold facts of brutality. However…

“And the wars against the other countries?”

“There were actually very few. After the first few countries fell, the other countries quickly surrendered and refused to fight Fritz. They saved their people, and the king’s time. The rumors of entire civilizations vanishing are false. It was a plague that swept over the world. It cut the world’s population in half, but because of the strange and powerful skills of the king from Ymir’s line, the Children of Ymir had their biology changed by the Founding Titan’s Power, and none of them were affected by the plague. Because of this, everyone blamed the Eldians for the plague, claiming it was another of their Titan tricks, a curse. It wasn’t. It was just a bacteria that the Eldians were no longer affected by. Still aren’t.” Erin spouted things like that sometimes. She often spoke in languages that no longer existed, or said that her mother looked like Ymir’s first daughter, Sina. 

However, Erin’s favorite pastime by far was People Watching. She loved watching the people who came from behind the walls, however, after sensing the pain from the Titans along the pathways, she decided to separate the two groups of Eldians so they wouldn’t keep killing each other. The Titans stayed away, and Erin was happy to see that the Wall Humans didn’t go searching for them. One day, Erin was walking through the forest when she saw a Talking Titan. Her father said that the mutation allowed vocal cords for some Titans, and he had yet to find out why. She smiled at the Talking Titan and then called out softly. 

“Stop. What’s the matter with you?” She moved over to the Titan and touched the Titan’s nose soothingly. The Wall Human stared at her in both awe and horror. “She is not Ymir. I am the Daughter of Ymir. Go on to the waiting room. My father will want to speak with you. You’re the first Talking Titan I’ve found.” The Titan jumped up and bowed and then rushed away. Erin smiled brightly at the woman. “Come on. I know where your fellow Wall Humans are.”

“Wh-what’s your name?”

“Erin. What’s yours?”

“Ilse.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Erin smiled at her brightly and then continued to guide her to where the other Scouts were resting in an abandoned castle. She pointed to it. “They’re there. Remember, the Titans won’t bother you again today. But once the sun rises tomorrow they'll forget my orders. You have to get back to safety before then.”

“Can’t you tell the commander yourself?”

“No…” Erin frowned and shook her head. “Papa doesn’t want me to talk to strangers.”

“What am I?” Ilse blinked at her in confusion and no little dumb shock. This day was turning out to be a very strange one.

“You’re a friend. I rescued you.” Erin’s smile was sweet and bright as she called to a Titan and crawled onto its shoulder and had it run back to the cove.


	8. Daughter pt 2

Ilse inhaled shakily and then rushed into the castle. Everyone was stunned that she was still alive. And they were even more shocked when they heard what she had to say. “I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not, but the little girl could control the Titan! She called the one about to eat me a ‘Talking Titan’, as if there were others! And then just now, she had a Titan pick her up and carry her away. She was sitting on its shoulder! It’s not nerves! It’s not exhaustion! It’s the truth!”

Commander Erwin looked at her calmly and then looked outside. “We have three more hours of daylight left. If what she says is true, then we shouldn’t come across a single Titan.” He looked at her. “Are you willing for me to gamble the Scouts on this?”

“Sir, everything I told you is the truth.”

Erwin studied her and then nodded. “Everyone up!” They did run into Titans, but none of the Titans attacked them. They just stood there and watched them go by. Ilse was grateful to the girl who both saved her life and also proved she wasn’t a raving lunatic to her peers. 

“What else happened?” Squad Commander Zoe Hanji looked over at her. 

“The Titan who cornered me was able to talk. It bowed wobbly and called me a Child of Ymir, and ‘my lady’. When I asked it why the Titans ate people, it started injuring itself. It was then that the girl appeared. She corrected the Titan, saying that she was the Daughter of Ymir, and that the Titan should go to the ‘waiting room’ as it was the first Talking Titan she had found.”

“The  _ first  _ Talking Titan?” Erwin gave her a sharp look. Ilse nodded.

“Before any of that, the first thing she said was ‘stop’. The Titan was just about to…to reach for me. Then the girl walked right up to the Titan and touched its nose, almost like you would a pet or something.” Ilse swallowed and looked at Erwin. “Do you believe me, Sir?”

“I’ll have to.” He pointed to the fifteen Titans they were riding past who weren’t moving at all. “This is not normal behavior.”

The Scouts arrived and everyone was stunned at only fifteen fatalities and seven wounded. Twenty-two casualties over all, which was far,  _ far _ lower than the stark numbers of previous excursions. These numbers allowed the Scouts to gain permission for another expedition to be had. 

This time though, it was Erwin who was cut off from the others. A massive storm had swept over and the rain had been so thick that visibility was only two feet in any direction. The smoke signals were ruined in the darkening sky and rain, and Erwin had quickly realized he was truly separated and disoriented. He had no idea where he was or where anyone else was.  _ So this is how I die?  _ He looked at the sky and exhaled before looking around. It was an hour before the storm broke up. He urged his horse tiredly to the river and washed his face and neck and hands of the mud. Looking around, he couldn’t see a single Titan, but he knew they would pick up his scent eventually. He was a dead man walking. Pulling out his journal, he began writing in it, so someone would know his last words and thoughts just in case his horse was found at the walls. 

“Out for a swim too?”

Jerking, he dropped his pencil and stared at the young girl. She looked to be around six or seven. “No. I got separated from my group. Are you Erin? Ilse spoke of you.”

“Ilse…” Her eyes brightened. “Is she alright? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“As far as I know, she’s fine.”

“That’s a beautiful horse.”

“You know about horses?”

“Oh yes, a lot of your Wall Humans die and leave their horses to wander. Mama loves horses. She tames them again and breeds them. We have a ranch of horses, cattle, pigs, and sheep.”

“Outside the walls?”

“I’ve never been inside them before.” Erin looked at him and then smiled at the horse and handed it an apple. 

“What’s that?”

She gaped at him. “An apple. Haven’t you ever had one?” 

He shook his head. “No.” She furrowed her brows and then looked around before raising her hand. Suddenly, a Titan rushed up and bowed. 

“You can leave your horse here. She won’t bolt.” Erin beamed at him and then pulled the stunned man onto the Titan’s hand. The Titan straightened and put the hand flush to its shoulder. She stepped on and then grabbed the hair. “You should too. They can move pretty recklessly.”

Erwin quickly grabbed some hair and gasped when the Titan bolted. They rode on the Titan for about twenty minutes before arriving at their destination. “This is my papa’s secret place. He goes here to test the genetic inheritance of plants and such. He uses plants as test subjects. Sometimes he tests things on the Titans, but that’s only to find a way to cure them. This is an apple.” She pulled one off the branch and handed it to him. “Inside are seeds. Plant them and you’ll get an Apple Tree. This is an orange. Do the same with the seeds inside and you’ll get an orange tree. The apple is a fruit. The orange is a citrus fruit. Papa told me all about botany.” She smiled at him and then guided him over to the bluff. He gasped sharply and stared at the vastness of the water.

“What…”

“That’s the ocean. Currently, you are…” She scrunched up her face. “Five hour constant Titan run from the Southwest edge of your outer wall. This is called a cliff. More specifically a bluff, cause it’s rounded.” She pointed to how it was formed. Erwin stared at the ocean and then down at the cliff and the rocks far below them. 

“I must have veered far off course.”

“Where were you aiming?”

“Straight South.”

She gave a startled laugh and shook her head. “Yeah. You are a bit off course, Sir.”

“Can you tell me where Titans come from?”

“They came from Humans.” Erin frowned at him. “You truly want to know the truth?”

“Yes.” His eyes were lit with hunger. “Everything.”

Her eyes hardened with determination. “Then it’s time. It’s time for the Wall Eldians to stand tall again. Time to show your failing government that it is a tyranny and not a peace.” She touched the symbols on his jacket. “You’re a commander.”

“I am.”

“Before I tell you the secrets of the world, you have to first find out the secrets that your own government is hiding.” 

“How?”

“I could tell you, but you would never believe me, and besides, you would have to have proof of what I’m accusing your government of.” Erin looked at him and then showed him how to peel an orange. “I’m a Human girl, capable of controlling the Titans.” She looked at him. “It’s a talent shared only by those of Royal Blood.”

He stilled and then stared at her. “You’re a royal?”

“There were two brothers. Karl Fritz and Richard Fritz. Karl was the eldest and took the throne. However, hard times came. The Titan Wars brought horrors. He shirked his duty and fled the capital with a group of followers to this place. Paradise Island. A bit of an ironic name.” Erwin stared at her intently. 

“And then?”

“He abandoned his younger brother. There are several other Human civilizations out there. Some haven’t even seen a Titan before. Some want our people’s complete annihilation. Richard Fritz is my great-grandfather.” 

“And this royal family? Do they know about you being a contender to the throne?” Erwin studied her. She gave him a confused look.

“The one who controls the Titans is the ruler. It’s that simple. The one who has the Power of the Titans is the ruler of Eldia.”

“That’s what we are?”

“You are an Eldian. I am an Eldian. Yes.” Erin looked at the Titans that were gathering around them. “Titans are Humans, Commander. It’s a disease that causes them to turn into this. Some Humans have an immunity to staying a Titan, and by eating the Human, the Titan will also turn into a Human again. That’s why they hunt Humans for no dietary reason. You must stop killing them. I’ll do my best to keep them from hurting you, but remember, the more you venture beyond the walls, the more Titans you kill, the more you’re hurting your own people.” Her eyes brightened. “Titans hate the cold. Explore North. You won’t find a single one there. All the Titans are in the South.” 

He gaped at her and then nodded. “Right. I’m a bit overwhelmed. How do I find you?”

“Call out to me through the pathways. I’ll hear you.” She smiled and then pressed her forehead to his,  _ ‘Like this.’ _

He recoiled away and looked over at her with wide eyes. Erin huffed in hurt. Quickly, he smiled. “You surprised me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” She stood and then shoved more apples and oranges and other samples of fruit like peaches and pears into his arms and then they rode by Titan back to his horse. She climbed onto it with him and guided him back to the walls where she sensed the minds of the people. 

“You should come inside the walls. You can’t hope to guide a people who you do not know.”

Erin frowned in thought before nodding. “I’ll speak about it to my papa. He didn’t know when it was the right time to sneak in. Next time you come out, I’ll give you my response.”

“Alright.” Erin hopped off his horse and waved at him as he rejoined the others who were about to enter through the gate. A Titan scooped her up, and she waved to him once more before allowing it to run off with her back to the cove. 

Hanji was ecstatic about the new fruit to plant and taste. However, she was sulking. “First Ilse and now you. When am I gonna have a chance? Oh! I know! I’ll go off alone and-”

“Squad Commander! Be sensible!” Moblit was verging on a panic attack just thinking about having to deal with Hanji purposefully veering off alone.

“Tch, at least tell me that you got answers from her.”

Erwin swallowed and then nodded. “Y-yes.” He cursed his stumble silently. Levi’s eyes narrowed in on him.

“Come to think about it, you look really shaken up.”

“You smell frightened.” Mike gave him a look. Erwin steered his horse quickly ahead of theirs and made his way into the town of Shiganshina. 

“I’m not frightened, Mike.” Erwin swallowed again.  _ I’m really unsettled though. All the answers I thought I wanted weren’t exciting but completely terrifying. By keeping us in ignorance, our own government shows that it is willing to see us be destroyed by other Human civilizations. Whoever has control of the Titans…for the last ninety-five or so years, the Humans have lived behind the walls in fear when the Royal Family lied and did nothing. Why? Where did the Walls come from? She didn’t tell me everything. I get the feeling that she doesn’t want me to have the answers too easily. Working for them will make the results that much sweeter, but she is telling me things that will allow for a greater survival rate.  _ “We’re traveling through Unowon next time.”

“But that’s the northernmost city! We haven’t forged a path at all there!” Hanji blinked at him in surprise. 

“I don’t think we’ll have to.” Erwin narrowed his eyes as they rode through the streets. This was the second time the Scouts had come back, this time without any casualties at all. The people were amazed and cheering him. It made Erwin feel slightly guilty for taking the credit when the credit was all to Erin, Queen of Eldia. He stifled his amusement.  _ I must be growing hysterical to laugh at a time like this. _ Erwin closed his eyes and tried to breathe through his rising stress.  _ Originally, all I had to worry about was the Scouts. Now I realize that the government is one huge conspiracy theory. I don’t know who to trust to keep things secret, and I can’t look to any allies while I work to put the rightful and helpful heir on the throne of Eldia. Preferably before these other Human civilizations come and try to wipe us out! _ He looked around and then cleared his throat. “Mike, Hanji, Levi. I’ll be needing to speak with you alone in my office when we arrive in Ehrmich.”

They confirmed and the rest of the travel was silent with Erwin grappling with his new knowledge and what to do with it.  _ Where did Erin get the power? Does it simply manifest in whoever is the rightful ruler? Is there more design in it than that? Who is her mother and father? Where did they come from if none of them have ever been in the walls? Are there other Eldians trapped like slaves in a less kind civilization, like the ones who want us dead? Is that where Erin and her family came from? If they escaped, then are there other Eldians here who came from what has to be the mainland, hiding among the Eldians who live in ignorance, hoping that the MPs won’t hunt them down? A disease that turns the Humans into Titans. I’ve never seen a single Titan transform back into a Human. This immunity must be rare. Is the Human aware that they have it? Is there a way for this immunity to be created and copied in a lab environment? Her father studies Titans, she said. He would most likely know far more than Erin about the details. I must see the man myself when we travel North. That orchard and those gardens show that her home with her parents must be close by. Five hours by Titan, makes it half a day’s ride by horse, barring Titan attack and bad weather. I could seek them out if I can’t contact Erin, but the risks of being killed by a rogue Titan are too great. Perhaps I could leave by Holst? Find the coast and just hug it until I find their home? _

“Erwin. We’re home.” Hanji nudged him.

Jarred out of his thoughts, Erwin had to take a moment to reorient himself. Exhaling, he nodded and quickly dismounted. “Yes. Sorry.”

“What’s up, Eyebrows? You’re not yourself.”

“I have a lot on my mind.” Erwin exhaled slowly before unsaddling his horse and hurrying through his tasks of bedding his horse down for the evening. That done, he walked with the others and led them into his study. Suddenly, he froze mid-step as a thought came to him.  _ These other Human civilizations won’t be held back by a confounding and corrupt pacifistic government. They’ll have technology and weaponry that will probably far exceed ours, and- depending on the country- have knowledge about the Titans that is far greater than our own. Shit! Things just went from horrible to impossible. _

“Erwin!” Mike’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Erwin actually jerked this time and stared at them all before blinking and nodding.

“Right. Sit down. This will take a while.” 


	9. A Shifter Shifter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erin flew when she was a little girl.

Erin grinned as she looked up at her daddy. “Papa?”

He smiled and pulled her onto his lap. “Yes, kitten?”

Wrinkling her nose, Erin giggled. “What’s a kitten?”

Faltering, Grisha paused and then laughed softly. “An animal quite a bit like a dog, except far smaller and with claws and whiskers and soft paws.” He tapped her nose. “But what did you want to ask me?”

Her eyes widened and she took a big breath before gushing out with, “I flew today!”

Chuckling, Grisha nodded and went back to his papers. The hospital was asking him to help them make another branch, for a maternity ward this time. “That’s very nice, Erin.”

“Papa! You don’t believe me!”

“Darling, if you say you flew, then I’m certain that you did indeed fly-”

“No!” Erin jumped off his lap and then shook his arm. “Watch me!”

There was a belligerent look in her eyes as she bit down hard on her hand. There was a crack and then a bright light. Grisha jumped back, overturning the table as he did so. His eyes were wide with shock and slight fear. However, no baby Titan appeared in his kitchen. Instead, it was a small sparrow, chirping at him insistently and hopping up and around on the floor. Then, it spread its wings and hopped into the air and alighted on the side of the overturned table. Crouching, Grisha stared at his daughter in shock. Transformation into an animal? That was impossible- and yet…he was looking at the existence of such a skill right before his eyes.

“Erin, come back.”

The body steamed and expanded and then Erin was there, sitting on the table with a wide smile on her face. “See Papa! I flew today twice!” There was no steaming bird corpse. 

Holding his breath, Grisha pulled her into a tight hug before lurching away and looking out the windows. No one had seen or heard the noise. No one would report them. Swallowing, he swiftly pulled her down to his basement lab and locked the doors. “Erin, you must promise me that you will never show this talent of yours to anyone. Anyone, Erin. Please.” He tried to convey the severity of the situation to his daughter, but she was too young to fully understand the danger she was in. 

Eyes wide, Erin nodded slowly. “Not even Mama?”

Carla. Grisha faltered. His own DNA couldn’t do this. Not on its own. Shifters have had children before and none of their children had ever inherited any transformational traits. At all. Unless the Shifter died without passing it on, but both her parents were still quite alive! That meant Carla’s DNA had something… 

“We’ll tell your mother together, Kitten.” He smiled at her, trying not to make it look too panicky. “Together. When she comes back from the market.”

“Alright, Papa.” She looked around with wide eyes. “This is your laboratory, Papa. Mama says I’m never allowed here.” She frowned and looked at him with almost betrayal in her eyes. “You don’t have dangerous tools in here.”

Chuckling, Grisha rubbed his face. “I moved them to my office. I worked in the hospital today, Erin.”

“Oh…” She nodded and then moved to his desk and looked at the books he was in the middle of writing. Books that would get Grisha and his family hunted  _ again _ should the government find out. 

Exhaling and trying to steady his nerves, Grisha wondered what he was going to do. He would have to tell Carla everything, everything including his first wife and ne’er do well son. This was going to be a very long evening. He was right. Carla hadn’t believed a word he had said, so he smuggled (re: dragged Carla kicking and hissing) them beyond the walls and traveled with them at night when the Titans couldn’t touch them. There, he transformed and showed them what he could do. Then Erin transformed into a puppy. Carla stared at her husband and daughter.

“No…it can’t be the family curse…” She covered her mouth with her hands and then promptly fainted. It wasn’t until the next morning that Grisha got her to explain her words.  _ After  _ she slapped him for dragging her into Titan territory of course. “My family has always had myths and legends about them. My great-great grandfather served the king… There are diaries. Something about King Fritz having him be his…left hand while another family, the Ackermans were his right hand.” Carla pulled out an extremely old book. “I always thought they were legends, myths brought down through the generations to tell the children at night.” She laughed faintly, with a thread of shock still there. “Who’d have thought that my old gamma would be telling the truth all this time? My people really do have malleable DNA.”

Grisha frowned at the new term. “Malleable?”

“Yes. Changeable, Grisha. Apparently some of my kin can shift forms, but it can’t be anything like yours because none of the myths ever talk about shifting into Titans.” She stared at him in slight fear. 

He exhaled and pulled out his own books and diary. “Carla…I have not been honest with you. Should you wish to leave me after this, I have no means or right to stop you, but please remember our daughter before you make a judgement call.” He took another breath and then began. “There is a world beyond these walls, Carla. A wide world filled with Humans. The world is sectioned off by groups of lands called countries. One such country is Marley…”

~five hours later~

Carla numbly fixed lunch as she struggled through everything he had told her. She had gone beyond the walls, watched her husband, whom she had given herself to, turn into a Titan, watched her daughter make her family myths a reality, heard that these walls were truly nothing but an island prison for the crimes of a long dead king, and learned that the government was actually a fake monarchy set up to continuously lie to the people.  _ How many times have we found the truth and refused to be ruled by liars only for them to use these horrible skills and wipe our minds?! How many times…how many things have they taken from me?! _

Swallowing, Carla looked down when she felt a tugging. Erin was crying. “Mama…do you not like me anymore?” Grisha stilled in the background and listened intently for her response. 

The tears in her daughter’s eyes, the vulnerable fear, cracked Carla’s heart. Crouching low, she pulled her little girl into a tight hug. “No, no, Erin, honey. I love you so much. Nothing you could do could make me love you less. Please know this. I love you so much, and I will never stop loving you.”

Pulling away, Erin treated her to a bright smile. Suddenly her smile dimmed. “And what about Papa?! Do you love him less now?”

Grisha coughed. “Erin, darling, why don’t you help set the table and let your mother continue her job. I’m sure that she still has quite a lot to think about-”

“Why? Why would more Humans be a bad thing? Why are you acting like this is terrible?” Erin frowned at them both, not understanding the complexities of adult thinking. “Knowing the truth is never wrong, Mama!” She looked so much like her father then that Carla couldn’t help but smile down at her. 

“No, it’s not wrong.” She looked at Grisha. “And you’re right, Erin. I don’t love your father any less.”

Inhaling sharply, Grisha swallowed and then stepped closer to his wife. “Even if you are not my first wife?”

“Grisha…I will never stop loving you, no matter who you loved first.” She cupped his cheeks and smiled at him through her tears. “This is my family, and my family is my life.” She sniffed slightly and then wiped her hands on her apron. “But, you had better start fixing this house up proper now! With ee-lectricit-ee and what not! I won’t have cold nights again as long as I have an advanced scientist husband.” She clapped her hands at him causing him to scoop up both Erin and Carla and pull them into tight hugs. 

“Of course, Darling Wife. I’ll give you a very modern home.” He pulled her into a kiss that Erin made an ‘eww’ noise at.

~seven months later~

Carla looked out the window before slamming it shut and closing the curtains. She stared at her bedraggled daughter, panting heavily. Her hands were shaking. They wouldn’t stop shaking, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to get her hands clean. She turned back to the kitchen, unable to face her daughter at the moment.

“Mama…will that man be alright?”

“N-no, Erin.”

“Why not?”

“Because…he’s dead, Erin.”

“Did you kill him, Mama?”

“Yes, Erin. Now- now, go wash up. I’ll make dinner and your father will be home soon…”

“Okay, Mama.”

When Grisha came home, he was surprised to find the front door locked. Carla pulled him in before looking up and down the street and then slamming and locking the door again. She leaned against it for a moment before falling into his arms, crying. 

“Carla?!”

“An official saw Erin transform from a fish to a little girl. He tried to coax her into the wagon, but I told her to run. I…Grisha, I  _ killed _ him!”

His hands tightened around her waist. “Where’s the body?”

“In the river. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I couldn’t…Grisha, he was going to take my little girl!”

He pulled her against him and tried to think this through. “Carla, pack quickly. We have to move.”

“Where?”

“Rose. We’re moving to Trost. Leave everything but the essentials. I’ll pack up my lab and Erin’s things.” 

She nodded and quickly started grabbing boxes and such. “What about the house?”

Grisha looked around him. He had built a water generator in the basement. Grimacing at the loss of his hard work, he waved his hands. “We’ll build another one, Carla. This house will seemingly catch fire in a tragic accident. The MPs won’t find anything remotely suspicious should they even think to check into a house fire. I think we’ll be fine.” Nodding, Carla swallowed and moved away quickly to continue packing.

Erin didn’t want to leave her best friend, Armin, but she couldn’t exactly stand against her father, so she got onto the ferry boat and left Shiganshina behind. The six year old started crying into her mother’s skirts.

~time goes by~

Grisha had deemed- after a year- that everything was safe for them to go back and visit the Arlerts. They traveled down the Shiganshina every year, visiting their friends. On their latest trip, Harold Arlert, Armin’s grandfather, told Grisha about a family in the farmlands. The mother was ill with what looked like a similar form of the plague that had swept around all those years ago. Unwilling to let another plague start up, Grisha took Erin with him to visit the family. He hadn’t realized that his daughter would make good on the training he had his friend Keith Shadis give her whenever the man was in town. His daughter had killed two grown men. At ten. And then was saved in turn by Mikasa… _ Ackerman _ . 

His eyes narrowed. “You’ll be coming with us, Mikasa, naturally. We will take care of you from now on.” He looked at Harold Arlert. “You should move North also, Harold. The schools there are much better, and Armin needs a better education, besides, that cough of yours doesn’t sound good. Weather is better there.”

Harold chuckled and then nodded. “Very well. Find me a place I can afford, and I’ll move my shop up there. Shoe repair and tailor work should be needed by anyone, I think, eh?”

Grisha smiled and nodded. “You’re very right.”

~two years later~

“WALL MARIA HAS FALLEN!” The cry came up from the barge filled with people. 

Carla gripped her husband’s arm tightly in horror. She searched the crowds for her children. There! She waved to them and watched the three (who had gone to Shiganshina to watch the Scouts leave) hurry over to her and Grisha. Calming her heart, she looked at Grisha. “The Titans would never-”

He looked grim. “It wasn’t a Pure Titan who could have done this, Carla.” He looked at the papers in his hand and studied the sketches. “Armored Titan… Colossal Titan…they’re shifters, like me.” They gathered the children and then hurried home. He gently pulled Carla into the dining and threw the paper onto the table and snarled. “These Shifters are like me. Except not as friendly and peace loving. They’re Warriors. From the program I told you about.” 

Swallowing, Carla looked at her husband. “What do we do?”

He smiled at her sadly. “What we have to do.” He trailed off and greeted his daughters and Armin. After settling the shell shocked children in the kitchen with some cocoa, the adults sent a message to Harold that his grandson was safe. Grisha looked at Erin who was keeping Armin distracted. Mikasa was quietly following the girl and boy around, unwilling to let her sister out of her sight. 

“In order for Erin to face this new life, Carla, she must become the Attack Titan.”

“No!” He shushed his wife and pulled her outside quickly. 

His gaze was intense. “Carla, listen to me. For one century the Reiss Family has done  _ nothing _ to undo the actions of the Coward King. Our people still in Liberio are suffering. They don’t have equal rights. They do one wrong move, and they start  _ vanishing _ because of the overbearing Marley government, and the rightful ruling family continues to idle away and waste their powers behind walls! This attack on Wall Maria- because it  _ was  _ an attack, Carla!- is only the beginning. Clearly, Marley has sent their Warriors to deal with the remnant of Eldian people! To clear out the  _ infestation _ so they can take the fossil fuels here! Unless I do something to stop the stupidity of the Reiss Family, all the walls will fall, one by one. I was sent here, Carla, to find the Coordinate, the Founding Titan. And I have. The Reiss Family is doing nothing with it.” His eyes flashed. “It’s time that power was given to someone who can do something with it.” He looked towards their little secretly modern house.

“I can’t lose you, Grisha!” Carla gasped for breath and gripped him hard. “I can’t…how will Erin feel when you force her to  _ eat you? _ ! And the Curse!”

Grisha closed his eyes. “She will obey, because it is her duty to inherit both the Coordinate and the Attack Titan. It’s not pleasant, and she has every right not to have it passed one when she dies. With her it could end, but that’s her call. Eldia can’t become great again if they attain that greatness on the backs of Titan slaves. They’ll just become another empire doomed to fail. I’ve been thinking it over. Erin can stop the cycle. She can make the world give Eldians a second chance. I truly believe she is the only one who could win the world’s trust! And as for the Curse, I have a theory-”

“Dad? Mom?” Erin slipped out and looked at them intently. “What’s going on?”

Carla swallowed and then pulled away from her husband and looked at her daughter. “Grisha wants to move against the Reiss Family.”

“Good. About time. They did nothing to alleviate the attack against our people. They’re shitty rulers.” Erin snarled. “Marley committed an act of war on Eldia. That can’t be left unchallenged!”

Carla scoffed bitterly. “She is your daughter, Grisha. She may not look much like you, but she is your heart.”

Kneeling in front of his daughter, Grisha held her hands. “I have to give you the Attack Titan, Erin. And you must learn to master the Coordinate as well.”

She stared at him. She wasn’t as smart as Armin was, but she did know how to do the math. The only way to pass on a skill was to ingest the spinal fluid of the shifter with that skill. Her eyes widened. “Are you going to do a spinal tap, Dad?”

He faltered and then chuckled. “No, Erin. That’s already been tried. It didn’t work. The former shifter must be dead.”

“You’re asking me to kill you.” Her eyes dimmed, and she looked down. “And leave Mama, Mikasa, and myself alone?”

“You’ll have Grandpa Harold and Uncle Keith. He’s at the cadet camp now, only a few klicks away from here.” 

Erin stared at him and then narrowed her eyes. “Wait. I have a better idea, Dad. Take me to the Reiss Family. Turn me into a Titan. Shift and defend me. Then have me eat the Coordinate. You will live.”

Grisha faltered and then looked at his unrelenting daughter. “Are you sure?”

“The family needs to be punished for their crimes against Eldia. They have spent too long in the shadows and watched our world suffer in ignorance and imprisonment. They haven’t done anything even a day after the wall was breached! All those thousands of people could still be saved, and they are  _ letting _ it happen!” She snarled. “They deserve to die.”

Gasping, Carla stared at her daughter as if looking at a stranger. There was so much anger in her eyes. So much hate. “Erin…”

Swallowing, Grisha nodded, and moved quickly. “Carla, we will return shortly.” Only Grisha never returned. 

Their plan went smoothly at first. Erin stayed outside until all the family was dead, then Grisha pulled her into the chapel where the unconscious and steaming Human form of Freida Reiss was laying. Erin didn’t look at the girl as Grisha injected her with the serum. It was then that things went badly. Grisha was so focused on his daughter that he missed Rod Reiss. The man stared on in horror and then fled the area. He didn’t run away though. He waited until they were coming out to their wagon. Then, he stepped out and shot Grisha in the throat, cutting his nape. 

“FATHER!”

“Erin…” His eyes stared deeply into hers, urging her to understand what he was unable to say.  _ I love you. I love you and Mikasa, and Carla. So much. I love you. _

He choked on his own blood, unable to breathe. Erin screamed when he passed on. She felt the power flow into her upon his death, as Titan powers were wont to do from parent to child. Sensing her father’s attacker still around, she turned on Reiss, but he was already fleeing. Erin pulled her father’s corpse onto their wagon and covered him with tarp. Already, she could feel the Coward King’s ideology pushing her to give in and give up. Crushing the old man’s stupidity under her mental boots, Erin took that power and wiped Rod Reiss’ mind on who attacked his family and who had the Coordinate. He knew a shifter had done it, but he didn’t know who. That done, she cracked the whip and caused the horses to start moving with a lurch. Her mother would be heartbroken. Erin numbly stared at the smoke rising from the ruined chapel. She hurried the horses along. She didn’t completely remember what happened during their attack, but she knew that her father had been thorough. Only Rod Reiss survived. Erin exhaled slowly and shook her head. It was alright that way. He would govern this farce of a kingdom until she was ready to take it from him. Green eyes glowing with rage, Erin pulled her lips back in a snarl. And she  _ would _ take it back. Her father’s dream of Restoring Eldia would come to fruition. She would see to that. The only way to do that would be to go through the military ranks and take the freedom of her people back by force. She would join the Cadets. Her eyes narrowed. The Military Police were too corrupt for her to make any headway in. The Garrison was a dead end street. Her eyes narrowed and she smiled. 

“The Scouts then. Perfect. Open minded, and they have seen first hand the destruction of the Titans. They won’t let the government continue being so lazy.” She would make it into Levi’s squad. She would become Commander Erwin’s personal assistant. She would do anything and everything to make things right by her people.


	10. Project TITAN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A modern-day, science fiction take on SnK. Levi's got his work cut out for him.

Levi Ackerman groaned and sat up. He glared at his alarm clock. Picking it up, he switched it off with as much venom as he could muster without breaking it. He was sorely tempted to fall back into bed. He sighed and got up with a hiss. His body was sore.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, Levi got into his black Bentley and drove to his office.

Swiping the card, he was allowed entry through a highly important looking door labeled ‘AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY’.

“LEVI!!!!!”

Levi hissed out a cuss word. “Hanji?” He turned to see a woman permanently infected with caffeine.

She bounced up to him. “Erwin wants you ASAP.” She winked at him. “You’ve got a new job!”

Levi sighed and shook his head. “I’ll go, if only to escape your mouth.”

She laughed loudly and vibrated her way to her office. “LOVE YOU TOO, LEVI!!!”

Levi shook his head and made his way to Erwin’s office. He knocked.

“Enter.”

Levi saw Mike and Erwin standing over Erwin’s desk. They were pouring over some files.

“Ah, Levi. Good. I have a mission for you.” Erwin straightened and started stacking the papers and slipping them back into their folders. He handed a blue folder to Levi. “I need you to infiltrate a company called TITAN Industries. We have suspicions that they’re using human experimentation. We want you to go in there and get evidence. Once you’ve got that evidence and have delivered it to us, then I want you stay there until we signal you. I want that place shut down.” Erwin shook his head. “Human experiments…cloning…mutations…cross species, who knows what they’re doing.”

Mike looked disgusted. “It’s sick.”

Erwin nodded. Levi sighed, looking bored. “Okay.” 

Erwin stopped him before leaving. “There’s one human, a teenage boy named Eren Jaeger. His sister and best friend are in our protection. The sister, a Mikasa Jaeger, has promised to join our ranks if we get her brother out. Try and find him, if you can.”

Levi nodded and left. He traveled to his office and read the files.

_ Project TITAN: _

_ A science experiment, set on creating the perfect human being. _

_ From what intelligence has been gathered, Project TITAN is using human experimentation. It is unclear just how invasive these experiments are, but it is safe to assume that they need to be stopped. No evidence has been provided. _

_ The humans that are being allegedly experimented on are referred to as recruits. Among these recruits are: Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Eren Jaeger, Annie Leonhart, and Ymir Maxwell. _

_Reiner Braun: 19 year old boy. Raised from toddler years in the science building. Suspected to have been kidnapped at the age of three. Status: Dangerous_

_Bertolt Hoover: 17 year old boy. Raised from toddler years in the science building. Suspected to have been given to the scientists by parents because of poverty. Status: Dangerous_

_ Eren Jaeger: 18 year old boy. Forced into the project at an unknown age by his father, Grisha Jaeger. Status: Unknown _

_Annie Leonhart: 18 year old girl. Entered into the program at the age of 7. Given to the scientists by her father three days before said father died. Status: Extremely Dangerous_

_Ymir Maxwell: 19 year old girl. Forced into the project at an unknown age by Rod Reiss. Status: Unknown_

_ ~~~ _

_ The leader of the project, a Doctor Grisha Jaeger, is a dangerous and deranged man. He is wanted in Germany, England, France, and the USA. He is also the third most wanted on Interpol. He is a gifted scientist fixed on the idea of creating the perfect human being. A human who cannot die, grow old, or become diseased. A human being who cannot be critically wounded. _

_ Governments internationally want this man stopped and the project shut down. Such experiments will only bring chaos and anarchy to the world. _

_ Grisha Jaeger is currently under the asylum and protection of one Rod Reiss. Rod Reiss is the president and leader of a science corporation known as TITAN. _

_ OBJECTIVE: Gather samples, evidence, and intel that will expose this corporation. Side mission: Find and extract Eren Jaeger, alive and unharmed. _

Levi sighed and put the file away. He started packing up his stuff.

~two weeks later~

Eren hissed as he lowered himself into the bathtub. He saw Annie walk in, a towel slung over her right shoulder.

“How’d training go?” She asked him. Her voice was monotone, but he was used to it.

All the ‘recruits’ were given training to test the outcome of experiments. The training tested durability, strength, intelligence, the five senses, agility, speed, and healing factors among many other things.

Eren gestured to his sore, nude body. “This answer you question?”

She smiled faintly. “What happened?”

The banging bathroom door signalled that Reiner and Bert had entered the baths. They meandered over. Eren shrugged. “I snarked off to my dad, and he slapped me in the Gamma Room.” Reiner gaped. Bert started sweating from nervousness and shock. Annie raised an eyebrow.

Reiner whispered. “Bert and I haven’t been in the Gamma Room yet. How bad is it?

Shifting in the tub to grab a sponge, Eren sighed. “Harsh. Extremely harsh. It’s three times harder on the mind and four times harder on the body than the Theta Room.” Bert gasped.

“But you’re the only one who’s past that yet!” He started sweating even more.

Eren sighed. “Not true. Annie passed it before I did. Ymir, I think, just past it. I only passed it because I thought like Armin.”

Reiner rolled his eyes. “Armin, Armin, Armin. That’s all you ever talk about. Armin and Mikasa!”

Eren raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? I thought you never listened to what I say…”

Bert put a clammy hand on Reiner’s shoulder. “Relax.”

Annie sighed. “When’s your next testing, Ri?”

Reiner glared at the relaxing Eren. The green eyed boy usually won their verbal fights. He was getting sick of it. “Three hours.”

Stilling in mid scrub, Eren tilted his head lazily over to Reiner. “What with?”

Reiner shrugged. “Armadillo DNA.” Eren hissed a breath through his teeth and submerged himself under the water.

Annie sighed. “Better go get ready for it then.” Reiner nodded and left. Bertolt looked at her, shuffled around and then followed Reiner. Annie stared after him.

“He likes you.”

She didn’t even look at Eren, who had emerged from the soapy water. “So what?”

“So you like him too.” This time she did look at him.

“So what?”

He gave her a lazy smile. “Life’s short. Next training, you might die. Our lives are shitty enough; don’t add another regret to it.”

She stared at him. “You’re talking from experience.”

He nodded. “Yep.” He didn’t elaborate.

“Fine.” She walked away. Eren groaned as he soaked more in the tub. That robot had a mean sledgehammer. If he had been normal, he would have gone right through the wall.

~four hours later, communal room~

Eren lazily stared at the ceiling. “Berty, pacing will not bring Reiner any closer to finishing the operation.”

Bert slumped into a chair. “What if he doesn’t make it?”

Looking at him, Eren rolled his eyes. Ymir laughed and spoke in a harsh tone. “So what? If he dies, then it’s his fault.”

Bert jumped up from his chair and glared at Ymir. “How can it be  _ his _ fault?!”

Lazily, Eren spoke up before Ymir could, eyes never leaving the ceiling. “He practically volunteered. If something happens, and they have to terminate him, then it’s his own damn fault.”

Bert fell back into his chair in exhaustion. “Will he come back the same?” His voice held no small amount of despair.

Groaning in exaggerated exhaustion, Eren got up from the floor. “Are. You. Insane?!  _ No _ one  _ ever _ comes back the  _ same _ ! It’s an  _ experiment _ ! Idiot! Of  _ course _ he’s going to be different!” Eren punched the wall in frustration. The normal crack didn’t appear, a hole did. Ymir raised an eyebrow. Eren took in a shuddering breath. He had hoped that he wouldn’t have to tell them. “Last night they took me to the lab and injected the blue stuff in me…” Bert froze up. Annie backed away. Ymir stiffened.

“T-th-they f-finalized it?” Bert’s eyes were wide. He was pale.

The serum that they called the Blue Stuff, was actually called TITAN-100-D.

Eren gave a scornful laugh. “Naw, only had a new version…they skipped right over the animal testing. The new version came fresh from the labs just yesterday. That’s why they slapped me in the Gamma Room.” Eren did a perfect backflip and landed on one hand. He spoke to them upside-down. “So far it’s going great. Nothing unforeseen. No negative mutations. However, if I need to be terminated then it’s Ymir’s turn.”

Spine stiffening, Ymir’s eyes widened. “What?” Her voice was faint.

Eren straightened up and walked over to her. He moved right up into her face and gave a low laugh. “We’re here under duress, Yimmy. You and I are not here willingly. I think you might call us…loose cannons?”

He smirked in a cynical, sardonic sort of way. His voice was as jaded as his jade colored eyes. “We’re… _ expendable _ .” He gestured carelessly to Annie and Bert. “All of us here  _ are _ , but you and I…” He pointed to Ymir and then back to himself. “Are even more so.” Ymir stared at him.

They all jumped when the door banged open. Reiner walked in. His face and body appeared the same. Eren raised an eyebrow. “They’re getting lax. Usually they keep us away for four hours of quarantine, not one.”

Reiner stared at him and then rolled his eyes. Bert approached timidly. “Ri? How are you?”

He chuckled. “You mean am I a monster now?”

Annie stood and watched carefully. This was a special ceremony that they went through after a recruit had gone through an experiment. “How do you feel about cold showers?”

Eren shot out his question. “To save Bert or the world, which would you choose?”

Ymir sighed but muttered her question. “How can you stand this life?”

Bert nodded. “Who do you hate the most?”

Snorting in derision- but at what exactly was anyone’s guess- Reiner nodded. “Mind Check 101.” He looked at Annie. “I despise cold showers.” Staring at Eren, he said. “Bert,  _ obviously _ .” He gazed at Ymir in disgust. “I am sacrificing my life for the betterment of the world. Not that  _ you _ would know, since you’re so selfish!” He smiled at Bert, but his smile was tinged with hatred. “Who do I hate the most? That’s easy. Armin and Mikasa.”

Eren’s eyes flashed yellow. Annie tackled him before he could kill Reiner. Eren’s eyes always flashed yellow before he lost control. It was a handy little hint for his friends, a little gift from snake DNA. Ymir kicked Reiner out of the Common Room. Bert went with him. Eren pushed Annie off of him. He hadn’t fought her all that hard. He shook his head. “Why does he hate them? They haven’t even met him!”

Ymir barked a laugh. “Why does sweet, gentle Berty glare at  _ me _ whenever I make Annie  _ laugh _ . Reiner’s jealous, Eren.”

Turning slowly, Eren stared at Ymir as the implications sunk in. All of Reiner’s past actions came back to him in more clarity. “Oh hell.”

Tying her hair up, Annie sighed. “This is just great. This is all we need. Jealousies to destroy our team.”

Ymir barked a laugh. “Team? Team?! This isn’t a  _ team, _ Leonhart! This is a group of  _ tragedies _ !”

Shoulders sagging, spine curved over, Eren sighed. “I’m going to my room.”

Straightening up, Annie glared at Ymir. “We may have differences of opinion, but we have to work together to survive.”

Ymir was about to jump into her lone wolf speech when Eren interrupted, pausing to lean against the door jam. “Guys,  _ of course _ we’re going to work together. Petty jealousies pale in comparison to our strong survival instinct.”

Looking at him, Ymir shrugged. “I guess.”

Annie just sighed. “Be careful, Eren. Reiner’s nearing his breaking point. He might not be able to control himself.”

Smirking, Eren looked at the hole in the wall that he made. “I think I’ll be okay.”

Ymir sighed. “They won’t be happy if you kill him.”

Looking supremely unconcerned, Eren shrugged. “If I die, then I’ll be out of this hell hole.”


	11. Telepath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if...there was another power like the Ackermans??

King Fritz scowled darkly as he stared out the window of his private balcony. “YMIR!” His consort slipped into the room. 

“My king?”

“The healers have found you with nine abilities?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And the Ackerman Trials, where is the report for that?”

Ymir hesitated only for a second before speaking with a soft voice. “They are…successful.”

“Why the hesitation?”

“I do not think we should be doing this to children.” She clutched her stomach. 

Fritz turned and regarded her and then exhaled slowly. “I see your point. These experiments are brutal and bordering on cruel. The Ackerman Trials will be the last of it. I’ll stop.” She smiled at him softly.

“Thank you.”

Cupping her face, he chuckled and kissed her. “You have given me three daughters, a powerful empire, and have saved all my armies from grueling warfare. Without you, my love, I would be without hope.” She flushed and tried to hide her smile but he kissed her again before moving into the palace again, with her on his arm. 

All seemed well. All the countries and lands surrounding Eldia were conquered and fully subdued. All the governments were held in place to prevent anarchy and to keep the peace. But as the years passed Ymir was growing strangely older far faster than she should. Fritz stared at his lover in horror. “There must be a way to save you!”

She cupped his cheek and smiled at him from her bed. “My king…have I served you well?”

“You have and you will continue to do so! You are not allow to die, Ymir! I will not allow it!”

“A powerful king you have become, my love, if you control the dead as well as the living.” She smiled at him, weariness rolling off of her as she struggled to sit up. “The transformations have taken their toll on me, I am afraid.”

“No. No!”

“I will not go quietly into the night, my king.” Her eyes flashed with inner strength that was not failing yet. “I will go out in my own way.”

And she did. Ymir threw herself in front of the king to keep him alive, but the brutality of her death, murdered, pushed the king past his limit. Having formerly ruled the nations with firmness but with laws his own people abided by, including himself, Fritz grew colder and bitter against the people belonging to the man who attempted to kill him, who succeeded in killing his consort and queen, Ymir. His goddess. Marleyans were animals, wretched and miserable beasts, and he loathed the very sight of them. The enmity between Eldia and Marley would last thousands of years, and while other conquered countries and peaceful lands near the Eldian Empire survived on rather good terms with Eldia, Marley suffered heavy taxes and unfair laws that no others were called to obey. 

His three daughters had the skills of Ymir now, a grisly and undignified way for Ymir to be passed on, and Fritz hated the Marleyans for it, secretly and mentally considering it to be their fault that his lover suffered even after death. His daughters screamed in the night from terrors because of the necessity. Fritz was always there to comfort them. Eldia would also stand strong. Always. And when Maria grew to her last year of life, she looked to her father obstinately and demanded that he would allow her a child of her own choice in husband. So Fritz allowed her a man of  _ her  _ choice (a man she had always loved and wished to marry) as her last wish, and nine months later of her last year of life, she gave birth to a boy. Her favorite child.

The father, Samuel Cavanagh, took care of the child, Prince Esse Cavanagh, the only connection of his to his beloved Maria. The child was strange and not like his cousins. He slipped into the background and stayed there, having children and grandchildren when he too grew older. He didn’t age prematurely. He did not have Titan DNA active in his blood. Many times through the centuries, however, royals did mingle with the Cavanagh family, keeping it fresh with Fritz blood. It was considered a safe fallback plan for arranged marriages. The Cavanaghs were dormant royals, not interested in power, land, or Titan strengths. But, as time passed and more and more dissension was felt through the Eldian Empire, the Cavanagh Family spoke against the king’s actions.

The Patriarch at that time, Ellias Cavanagh, glowered at Karl Fritz. “I know what you’re attempting to do! I know what you’re planning! You can’t abandon your people! You can’t! There is another way to stop these constant wars!”

“How?!” Karl stormed over to him. “If you have a solution, then I would hear it!”

“Reach out to Marley! Reach out to the other countries. Return them their land and people. Bridge truces and forge peace! It will be slow going and grueling, but it  _ will _ work! This isn’t peace, Karl! What you’re doing isn’t peace! IT’S RUNNING AWAY!”

Karl reached to touch Ellias, but the man jerked away and gave him a sharp look. “No tricks.” Karl smiled at him. “I will not be wiping your mind.” Ellias still didn’t look trusting, but Karl took him by surprise and gripped his arm tightly. “I’m sorry.” The Coordinate power crackled between them. “I hate lying.” 

Ellias gasped and struggled, desperation snapping and cracking within him, making him feel both alive and…strangely aware of  _ everything _ . His eyes glowed. Karl gasped in shock when the man reached into the  _ Founding  _ and stole back his memories and slotted them back into place. Ellias smiled darkly, eyes still glowing an eerie green with a hint of gold in the center. 

_ “It seems, my king, that the Cavanagh Family received something from Ymir after all.” _ His voice was soft but his lips weren’t…moving. 

Karl jerked away from him violently and stared at him in horror. “What is happening?!”

“The Karnans have a saying about this.” Ellias breathed in and then breathed out slowly, smile widening. “They call them Psychics. Eldians call them Telepaths. It’s an offshoot ability from the Coordinate’s pathway skill.” He stepped closer and smiled at the king. “Your mind is wide open to me, and you have already made the vow. There is no way I can alter that now. It’s set, not even I can change that. My powers are still new to me.”

“You aren’t a Shifter?”

“I don’t know yet.” His eyes darkened. “And neither will you.” With a wave of his hand, Ellias Cavanagh erased the king’s memories of this entire thing happening. He walked away, rendering all the guards in the hallway unable to process seeing him. He tricked their minds and senses and thus became invisible to them. With a slow smile, Ellias nodded and left the palace. When the time came for him to leave, he would take half his family and leave the other half. But first…could he awaken in them all the same skill he had? Was it at all like the Ackerman Awakening? The Ackermans, who were not Shifters, but were extremely loyal to the king with inhuman skills? Were the Cavanaghs like them? Ellias did not know, but he knew he had to find out, and quickly.

The tests took two weeks to complete. His family woke to their skills at his own telepathic prodding. Ellias looked at his wife and brother. “As near as I can understand it, the Coordinate woke up in my DNA this skill, much like the Ackermans are awoken by a dangerous situation and take on the strength and reflexes and speed of Titans. Now, before Karl enacts his plan, I must find out of we can telepathically communicate with our two branches of family even from this distance.” He looked at his brother and wife intently. “We must be able to communicate. Karl’s making a terrible mistake, but I cannot undo his Vow of Peace. The Coordinate is destroyed.”

“What makes us different from the Coordinate?” Hansel frowned at him. Ellias’ wife, Terra, spoke up slowly.

“We are only able to control the mind. We cannot cause Eldians to become Titans. We cannot control the DNA of others like the Coordinate can. We cannot see the future like the Attack can. We cannot shift at all, like the other powers can. We do not seem to have gained any combat skills like the Ackermans do. What we have is purely mental.”

Hansel snorted. “It’s mental alright.” 

Startled into a laugh, Ellias nodded. “Thank our ancestor Maria for this. It must have come from her DNA.”

“I thought Titan powers weren’t inheritable by DNA.” Terra frowned at her husband. Ellias shrugged. 

“What can I say? This situation is constantly changing and constantly revealing new tidbits that we didn’t know were even on the table of possibility.” They all nodded slowly at that. 

The days passed quickly after that, and they found that they could communicate with each other even from that distance and none of their telepathic communications were picked up by the Founding Titan. This was excellent news. Hansel took a vote with his family and they agreed to settle in the mainland and ride out the Coward King’s abandonment and consequent suffering at the hands of Marley (as was the plan they gleaned from Karl’s mind), while Ellias and the others of his family traveled to Paradise Island and suffered in backwardness and no technology with an oppressive Coward Ideology. The two families, while they still had the chance of being together, practiced and strengthened their skills. They found that their newborns also had these telepathic abilities. However, the mothers and fathers were easily able to keep their telepathic children under control. There was a scare when one little girl caused a rat to eat itself by simply controlling it’s mind. But after that, they began a  _ very strict _ education on morality, poise, grace, and mercy. 

It was after Wall Maria was created and after the Marleyans began unleashing Titans onto the island that one of the Cavanaghs found out that they could control the Titans too, but not by the pathways, but by their minds. They could read their thoughts too and sense where the Titans were and what they were going to do next. This allowed the Cavanaghs to use their abilities to sneak through the wall by tricking the Garrison guards and traveling around the island. The Cavanaghs, as the decades slipped by, found that children with non-Cavanaghs also had telepathy. It clearly showed to them that their Titan power was dominant in genetics. This caused them to start massive communities and colonies around the island, especially in the North and West. There they stole knowledge from the MPs and used it to create factories by using Titans to do the heavy lifting. They created and invented and learned and improved and educated themselves via their Mainland Family’s knowledge. Anything any Cavanagh learned, it was shared in what the next generation of Cavanaghs called the Collective.

Soon, nearly one hundred years passed by and the Cavanaghs were a massive extended family, all tightly knit due to their constant mental communication. There were no secrets, no dissent. There was no fear of the Titans. Nothing holding them back except morality, mercy, grace, and poise. The Cavanaghs on the mainland traveled the lands and countries, tricking the people around them into thinking that they were someone to be trusted. All their traveling documents were blank. Psychic paper, they jokingly called it, forcing the officers and government agents into seeing what  _ they _ wanted them to see. It worked all the time. The travelers always returned to Marley and sent all their learned data into the Collective so the others would learn advanced technologies and skills and combat forms and military secrets and government plans concerning Paradise and Eldia and Marley. 

So it went until one Cavanagh discovered a young man, a young doctor, recently widowed and betrayed by his own son on a mission to unseat the dystopian government they were all suffering under. She smiled softly.  _ “Please advise.” _ She slipped her knowledge into the Collective and listened to the family vote. Everyone was on board with her approaching him, so that is exactly what Carla Cavanagh did. Smiling, she pranced over to the Scout soldier and Doctor Jaeger. She pulled the man into her confidence when the Family saw how he handled himself during the plague. After that, they told him everything, showed him everything they were doing, all their colonies and factories in the North, all their advanced technology that Marley would undoubtedly kill for, all their knowledge from around the world, and how to harness the Ice Burst Stones to their maximum efficiency, including zeppelins, locomotives, and trains. With the stones, they didn’t need the crutch that was petroleum like all the other countries were requiring. 

Grisha was stunned. “This…you have provided the future for Eldia!”

“It’ll be a long hard road back to forgiveness, because the past kings and queens have been dotted with atrocities and slaughters. Nothing so exaggerated as what Marley is claiming, but there is a seed of truth to every horror story.” The current Matriarch, Ellen Cavanagh, smiled at Grisha. “You impressed Carla with your determination and skill. We want to help you.”

“Why haven’t you overturned the governments?”

“With the Coordinate crippled by the King’s Vow, our fighting against the inner circle and their brainwashed guards, it would become a devastating civil war led by two telepaths. That isn’t how we want things to go. Currently, under their rule most people are surviving with fifty people killed over a century of ruling.” She exhaled. “If we tried to wrest control, then they would undoubtedly bring in the Titans to uphold the Coward King’s Peace. We couldn’t hope to outmaneuver the Coordinate’s control over the Titans and pathways.”

“And even if you did manage to succeed, it would probably be at a far greater cost that we should pay.” Grisha rubbed his chin. She nodded.

“Exactly. We have tried to get close to erase their minds, but the King’s Vow is so strong that our own attempts have been overruled. We decided to stop before they became suspicious about their lapses in memory.” Ellen grimaced. “The only way to do this is to kill the ruling family completely and then perform a bloodless coup, tricking the population into thinking one of us is the true heir to the throne.” She looked at Grisha closely. “But as you know, we have no shifting ability.”

So, Grisha slowly worked his way up into the Royal Family’s confidence. Slowly but surely becoming their main doctor, getting invited to their private homes, learning everything he could about how many of their inner circle there was, how they passed on the Coordinate power amongst their family, and what their plans were. What he found disgusted him. Their slothful complacency was disquieting and disturbing. However, he hesitated. He didn’t want to slaughter them because the more he learned about them, the more he realized that they were victims of Karl’s brainwashing just like all the other people were. He couldn’t end their lives. He simply couldn’t. It wasn’t the way of a doctor!

Ellen grudgingly agreed, and instead, they settled back and watched the family for any sign. They kept in communication with their family on the mainland as to what Marley was planning. All was quiet for a decade and during that time Carla and Grisha fell in love and had a daughter, Erin Cavanagh-Jaeger. It must have been because of the Titan Power from Grisha, because Erin from a very young age began experiencing premonitions as well as extreme telepathic strength. She was quite possibly the most powerful telepath in the Cavanagh Family since their fist one, Ellias Cavanagh.


	12. Blood pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erin Jaeger is part of the Warrior Program. She should feel honored. Right?

Erin jerked in surprise when Zeke stormed into the Warriors living room. She looked up at him with worry. “They voted you down.” Her voice was calm. Zeke nodded, pacing with a snarl on hips. 

“They’ll let you go with Marcel, Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner. Without me!” He punched the wall. Erin hid her smile. 

_ Perfect. Father, you were right all along. _ She looked over at where Willy Tyber was coming up the drive. “Zeke, you’ll only be punished with a bad campaign if you keep destroying government property.”

“You don’t understand. They don’t agree with us. You’ll be going with-”

“I know.” Erin smiled at him and kissed his cheek, immediately calming him down. “But I won’t let anything happen to me, Zeke.”

“The old man will be there somewhere. He can’t find you. Can’t-”

“We don’t even know if he’s alive.” Erin chuckled softly and then stood up and ignored how Willy straightened in time with her. 

“You’re barely eleven, Erin. You can’t-”

“It is my duty to go with them. Since they found out Mother’s bloodline, they will allow us to remain alive if we corporate. You know this, Zeke. I have been chosen to become the next Coordinate, Zeke. Since you have been given the Beast Power, it is my sworn duty to take the Coordinate. I will fulfill my duty to Marley, and I will be safe and will see you again. Your dreams will not be crushed, Big Brother.” Erin didn’t know when she had become such a good liar. Even her brother believed her. Well, that was no surprise. Zeke worshipped her. She never did anything wrong in his eyes. It had been interesting when training with the others. 

“But you’re still Human!”

Resting her hands on his cheeks, Erin smiled up at him. “The others will keep me safe. The moment we find the Coordinate, and I take the power for myself, we will return to Marley, and I will return to you. Stick to the plan, Zeke.” She settled into his arms soothingly, hugging him gently. Wrapping his arms around her petite form, Zeke exhaled slowly and then nodded. 

“Right. The plan.” He closed his eyes and then huffed a laugh. “I’m so glad that I managed to save you from the old man before he fled Marley.” Erin hid her snarl behind a sweet smile.

“Yes. You saved me from that brainwashing, Zeke.” 

“Oi, this is disgusting. You’re siblings, not lovers.” Willy made himself known as he marched further into the room. He was the only one who could talk shit to Zeke and get away with it because of his family’s nobility and his massive influence over the countries around the world. 

Well, the Fritz Family was pretty powerful too thanks to the deal Zeke and Erin struck with Marley. Unlike the other powers,  _ only _ the Fritz Family could unlock the true power of the Coordinate. There were only two people in all of Marley with Fritz blood, and that was Erin and Zeke Fritz-Jaeger. They were truly irreplaceable. Because of this, Erin had never suffered like her people had. She had never seen a day of hardship in her life. She had worked hard in training and was a master in combat, but she was royalty, a princess.  _ A slave. _ Erin looked out the window while Zeke threatened to tear Willy’s willie off. Erin stared at the high wire fences denoting where the Internment Zone began and ended. She looked around Liberio from the fourth story vantage point she had. 

“Erin?”

Stirring, she turned and smiled at Zeke. “I’m alright.”

He nodded, eyes still filled with worry for her. It was painfully obvious to everyone that Zeke adored his baby sister to the point of it being…concerning. The Marleyan officers knew that Zeke lost all focus and self-control when Erin was in danger or being threatened. His infamous clinical precision in battle went out the window when Erin gave him that sweet smile of hers. The man transformed from a hard and jaded tactician to a huge cinnamon roll with extra frosting, but that was  _ only _ for his sister. A Marleyan officer found out that Erin was not the type of weakness for Zeke that made him more obedient. He had placed a gun to Erin’s head, and when six year old Erin had started crying, Zeke transformed and ate the guy. Zeke had been put in isolation for five weeks after that, but the higher ups had learned their lesson. No one messed with Erin Fritz-Jaeger.

Erin watched her brother go off to his drills. Willy stepped over to her lightly. “Just think, when you become the Coordinate and return to Marley, we can get married.”

“Zeke gave his permission then?” Erin knew for a fact that Zeke hadn’t. She was only eleven. Though half the soldiers around her didn’t believe it. She carried herself with a strange maturity, a charm that was years beyond her real age. Willy scowled and then gave her a winning smile- or what he thought was a winning smile. To Erin, he just looked like he was in pain.

“No, but I’m working on him.”

“Right.” Erin laughed softly. “You know he would never approve of me marrying anyone.”  _ He doesn’t want to strip me of my fertility. The only way in his eyes to spare me is if I never fall in love and never get married. He would even go so far as to strap me up with a chastity belt. _ Erin pushed that out of her mind and looked at the guy. 

“I want you as my wife.”

“I’m eleven.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Does to me.” Erin gave him a look and then turned back to look at the electric fences. “Excuse me.” With that, she left the building and moved to the gate. 

“Sorry, my lady, but you don’t have the proper escort.” 

Erin scowled and then looked over at where Zeke was training. She stomped her foot and huffed before looking at the man pleadingly. “Even if I stay in sight? I just want to climb that wall.” She pointed to the low stone wall that looked over the Warrior Graveyard. The man hesitated and then looked down at her. He was a kind man. Not like most of the Marleyan soldiers who liked power a little too much over the Eldians. 

“Listen, I might not think that’s bad, but my superiors will, Lady Erin. You have to obey me because I have to obey them.”

“Who makes these stupid rules?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t go calling them stupid. You’re getting to the age where you know the difference between blurting things out and being prudent. People won’t be as forgiving the older you get.”

Nodding, Erin bit her lower lip and then looked at the big clock tower in the center of the Warriors parade ground. “When is your shift over?”

“Five minutes.” He smiled and then nodded to the guard house. “Wanna have a game of checkers?”

“Yeah!” She dashed in and snagged a sweet. He always had a bowl of them. When their game was over, his shift was over, and thus he escorted her to the wall and even climbed up with her. Erin stared at the big city beyond Liberio. “I don’t like fences and walls.”

“Neither do I really.”

“Why does Marley hate my people so much?”

“Because of the old wars.”

“But…I didn’t commit any of those war crimes.” She stared at him. A few Marleyans were walking on the street below them. They paused to listen. “Why are the Eldians still being isolated and punished? They bleed red just like the Marleyans. I just…I don’t understand why Marley is being so mean. If they’re nice to us, then most of us will be nice to them! My gamma says you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. If our people became truly equal allies, no more zones, no more rebellions and strikes, then nothing could stop us! Marley’s strength and Eldia’s power united as in a true friendship could be amazing to witness, don’t you think, Miche? I just…” She felt some tears slip down her face. “I don’t like seeing so many people unhappy. Even the Marleyans are unhappy. Friends can make people happy. So why can’t our people be friends?”

He exhaled and shook his head. “Because that just isn’t the way it is meant to go, Erin. The government of Marley doesn’t trust the Eldians. They’re so far up in their office buildings that they don’t see the Eldian children here wanting to play with the Marleyan children. They’re too far away to realize that the Eldians and Marleyans both are ready for a more friendly change. Because they can’t see this, they don’t start the changes. The people don’t call for change because they don’t want to anger the government, thinking that the government won’t let them.”

“So if the people wanted it, then the government would listen?”

“They should.” 

Erin smiled brightly at him. “Then I’m going to poll the Marleyans and the Eldians both. I’m going to find out if the people of both sides really do hate each other and why. If things can be changed then the fences can come down. People will be happier for it! Friendliness is never a mistake!” Her eyes showed with a determination that took Miche’s breath away. He laughed softly.

“You know kid, I think if any change does come, you’ll be at the forefront, spearheading it.”

“Thanks! Will you be with me?”

“As long as I’m allowed.”

“Thank you, Miche.”

“Erin?! ERIN?!”

“That would be your brother.” Miche looked at the clock and winced. “You’re almost late for chow.”

“Crap!” She leaped to her feet and waved to Zeke. “OVER HERE!” Running along the wall, she laughed and jumped down and ran to Zeke’s arms. He swept her into a hug. 

“And just where have you been?”

“Playing checkers with Mister Miche and talking. What about you?”

“Training.”

“You’re not sweaty.”

“Shifting training.”

“Ah. How’s the hardening?”

“Going very well.” He nodded to the guard before hoisting his laughing little sister up onto his shoulders and walking briskly back to the building they lived in. When they all sat down, Erin looked at the candidates and then looked over at Warriors. She sat with them because she might as well have been one of them, seeing as no one else could take the Coordinate but her. Reiner grinned at her.

“Hey there, Princess. How are you?” Everyone called her Princess. Wrinkling her nose at him, she sat down beside Zeke and stole Bertolt’s grapes. 

“I’m doing fine, but Zeke’s worried that you’re going to get me killed.”

“That would be against our orders.” Annie raised an eyebrow at the girl. Erin had never figured Annie out. The girl was dangerous and hardly ever smiled, but when she did it gave Erin a creepy feeling. Annie laughed- had laughed before- but it never seemed…genuine. It was like all her humanity had been beaten out of her, and the blonde was trying to figure out how to fill in the broken gaps. 

Erin scowled at Annie. “Pretending won’t make it real. Your personality is missing. You can’t get it back.” Zeke flinched. 

“Erin.”

Looking at him, Erin frowned. “What?”

“How just like her.” Willy laughed nervously as he waltzed into the room. “Erin can always be trusted to be brutally honest and frighteningly spot on in all her character analyses.”

“Do you want to hear what I think of you?”

“Nope!” He grinned at her and stole Marcel’s chair when the boy had gotten up to grab more water. “I think the honesty would crush me.”

“Is that a promise?” Marcel glowered at him. 

Ignoring the blond boy effortlessly, Willy beamed at Erin solely. “So, you’re leaving this week to take out the Paradisian Eldians?”

Erin just barely stifled her flinch. Keeping a completely cool expression, she nodded, reaching for her glass. “Seems like.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Should I be?” Erin gave him a sharp look as the pathways crackled with power around her at her command. All the Shifters flinched at the touch of her mind to theirs. Willy leaned back slowly, no longer getting into Erin’s personal space. 

Coordinate Erin may not yet be, but her blood was still royal. She was strangely empathic and telepathic even without. The officials worried at just how powerful Erin Fritz-Jaeger would become after she ingested the Coordinate. She could already telepathically connect to the Children of Ymir. Once she had the Coordinate, she would be able to touch the minds of everyone, not just the Eldians. It was a  _ lot  _ of power. Zeke knew that his sister would be crushed with conditioning once she returned. Of all of them, they had trained and conditioned her the most. Though…Zeke had his doubts about how well all that conditioning actually stuck. Sometimes he couldn’t get a good read on his sister. She was damn inscrutable when she wanted to be.

“Alright, Erin. I think you intimidated them enough.” She released her awareness of the pathways and smiled at Zeke sweetly before drinking the rest of her milk. Zeke noticed how everyone gave a very light exhale. For all his sister’s sweetness and angelic looks, she was quite possibly the most dangerous among them, and she couldn’t even shift yet.

Reiner cleared his throat. “We’ll watch over you, Erin. Don’t worry, Sir.” He nodded to Zeke.

“See that you do.”

Laughing, Erin smiled at the serious faces of the others around her. “This is all so stupid. All this struggle…it’s so funny seeing everyone fight for another breath. Walls and fences are everywhere. No one is ever actually free. Strings tie and constrict, and lies drip from everyone’s lips, poisoning minds and twisting thoughts. No one can see it, but I can. I can see a lot of things.” Erin’s smile twisted bitterly. “Not that anyone ever listens to what they know will make them uncomfortable to know.” She did a tight backflip and landed neatly on the floor behind her chair. Grabbing another sandwich, she gave Zeke a sloppy kiss and then bolted from the room to her own. Zeke shook his head tiredly. 

“Erm, how intelligent is your little sister?” Bertolt blinked at him. 

“She dumbs herself down on purpose, and her heightened emotionality makes it harder for her focus on homework, but she’s just as smart as me. Just as smart as the loser.” Zeke drank the rest of his coffee. 

‘The loser’ meant Grisha Jaeger. The man was a famously intelligent scientist and doctor who figured out and created several new Shifter types, along with a regeneration serum derived from the Titan healing, but when Marley attempted to take him and his serums by force, Grisha Jaeger vanished into the night, leaving his entire family behind. Dina Fritz-Jaeger knew where her husband had fled to, but she refused to tell the authorities. In return, they turned her into a Titan and took her one-year-old little girl and nine-year-old little boy to be raised as Warriors. It was rumored that Dr. Jaeger had fled to Paradise Island to continue his research but no one dared go further inland on the land that was infested with Titans. So Jaeger was relatively safe at the moment. Not anymore though. Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, and Marcel were given two orders. Get the Coordinate inside Erin Fritz-Jaeger, and take Dr Grisha Jaeger  _ alive  _ and bring Jaeger back to Marley. Zeke was going to come and escort them back personally if they ran into trouble. That was the deal that was struck. The officials knew that if they pushed Zeke, they’d lose all hope of continuing the line of Richard Fritz, the younger brother of Karl Fritz, who had fled to Paradise with half of his people over a hundred years ago. So, Zeke got his way and was the backup and Plan B. 


End file.
